The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has created, for members only, a step-by-step guide to waste disposal (http://www.avma.org/issues/environment/wastedisposal/clinical.asp) including advise on carcasses and animal waste, pharmaceuticals, cbatteries and chemicals, recycl;ables and radioactive wastes. Also included are sections on record keeping, training and compliance.

Congratulations to AVMA. Some product manufacturers provide outline guidance on disposal of their products, generally when required by CHIP or on an MSDS, and some waste disposal companies have published a much simplified disposal scheme for clients. However, comprehensive to straighforward guidance is lacking. HTM 07 01 is considered efibitive, but has no status in law. Attempting to create an all-embracing document teh authors have instead created a nightmare that few people will refer to and even less will read thoroughly. The simple schematic that guides a waste producer through disposal, from segregation and packaging etc is just not there.

The remainder of the waste management process after removal from the point of arising can safely be left to the waste contractor and generally the waste producer need not concern themselves with that. But for those few crucial first steps, guidance is lacking and individual producer sites are left to interpret HTM 07 01 as they see fit.

For smaller producers operating without specialist support help is at hand only from commercial sources. With separate contracts for clinical and other wastes including commercial/domestic wastes, confidential paper wastes and recyclables, amalgam and other chemical wastes, animal wastes etc etc, the advice available is at best fractured and may be in part contradictory.

If a professional organisation were to step in with a simplified step-by-step guide many disposal errors might usefully be eliminated. Be it the professional bodies, the DoH, medical, dental or veterinary organisations, CIWm, DEFRA, EA or organisations such as the SMDSA, or even a single large disposal contractor, the impact on disposal standards would be substantdramatically.