Hazardous wastes are defined as wastes that have the potential to cause harm to human health or the environment. The properties of hazardous waste can be grouped as follows

• Physical properties: flammable, explosive, oxidising
• Health hazard properties: carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, toxic, corrosive, irritant, infectious, harmful.
• Environmental hazard properties: for aquatic environment, for terrestrial environment, for ozone layer

The following are examples of common wastes that can be encountered

Other types of hazardous waste which may occur occasionally on farms include the following:

• Refrigerant gases from redundant refrigeration equipment
• Asbestos from maintenance or building works on older buildings
• PCBs contained in old electrical transformers

Hazardous waste should be treated with the respect it deserves. In terms of waste chemicals, the key is to look at the label on the product to determine if it is hazardous or not, i.e. are any of the following on the packaging

What to do with Hazardous Waste

• Those supplying you in some cases will also offer a take back scheme – check with your suppliers.
• See "Good Practice Guide" for Empty Pesticide Containers below.
• Hazardous waste may be collected by an Authorised waste collector or brought to an Authorised waste facility. Please contact the Environment Section on 044 93 32166 to ensure the collector/facility has a permit.

Athlone Civic Amenity Site:

• Hazardous Waste Collections are scheduled for the last Friday and Saturday in every month between the hours of 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. 
• Max 5 items per visit covered under the gate fee.
• Recycling Centre Fees 2023-24

Mullingar Civic Amenity Site:

• Hazardous Waste is collected Monday - Friday only.
• Max 5 items per visit visit covered under the gate fee.
• Recycling Centre Fees 2023-24

How to prevent Hazardous Waste

1. Look for alternatives or products that are less damaging to the environment.
2. Use products such as chemicals before they go out of date.
3. Only purchase the amounts needed.
4. Store and dispose of hazardous waste through a licenced waste contractor.

Asbestos Waste Guide

• Asbestos waste is a hazardous waste, which must be disposed of in an appropriate manner to an authorised disposal facility

Related file(s)

• Asbestos Guidelines

Triple Rinsing - Guidelines and Best Practice

Triple Rinsing of chemical containers may not necessarily render them non hazardous or suitable for recycling. The effectiveness of the rinsing depends on whether or not the chemical has infiltrated the fabric of the container, and this depends on the type of chemical, how long the container has been stored and under what conditions. Your supplier/manufacturer should be able to advise you on whether the chemical is likely to have infiltrated the fabric of the container. You should contact your supplier/manufacturer in advance to establish this information before embarking on any triple rinsing procedure.

1. Empty the pesticide into the sprayer tank and let the container drain for 30 seconds.
2. Fill the container 10 percent to 20 percent full of water or rinse solution.
3. Put the cover on the container.
4. Swirl the container to rinse all inside surfaces.
5. Add the rinsate to the spray tank and let drain for 30 seconds.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 two more times.
7. Inspect the container to be sure it is clean. Chemical may remain in the corners, the handle and container threads. This must be removed. Also, be sure drips on the outside of containers are cleaned off.
8. Put the cover back on the container and dispose of according to label directions. If containers are to be recycled, leave the cover off and store in a dry, secure area.
9. It is the responsibility of every farmer to ensure that they do not present contaminated containers for recycling.

Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers

“This Good Practice Guide provides straight forward guidance for the safe and environmentally friendly recovery of empty plant protection product containers which are sometimes referred to as pesticide product containers or PPP containers. Only triple rinsed empty pesticide containers, managed in accordance with the 7 STEPS: Good Practice Guide can be classified as non-hazardous waste.

Generally farmers in Ireland use pesticides in the form of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides as part of their farming activities on crops and grassland. Empty pesticide containers are potentially hazardous wastes if not managed appropriately and can represent a management challenge for many farming enterprises. It is estimated that approximately 365 tonnes of pesticide containers are placed on the Irish market annually. To assist farmers in managing this waste, national agencies have collaborated in producing support guidance for farmers on how to manage these empty pesticide containers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have jointly prepared and published the 7 STEPS: Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers.”

Please see attached brochure for more information: Good Practice Guide for Empty Pesticide Containers (944kB)