VIRIDOR WASTE MANAGEMENT LIMITED Lostock Waste Treatment Plant Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Management Plan
CONTENTS 1 Introduction... 2 2 Sources, Releases and Impacts... 3 3 Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Control Measures... 4 3.2 Site Management Responsibility... 4 3.3 Physical Control Measures... 4 3.4 Management Control Measures... 4 4 Monitoring... 6 4.1 General... 6 5 Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Contingency Measures... 7 5.1 Introduction... 7 5.2 Vermin, insects and scavenging birds complaint investigation... 7 5.3 Elevated Vermin, Insect and Scavenging Bird Levels... 8 5.4 Reporting Measures... 9 6 Emergency Plans...10 6.1 General... 10 7 Management Responsibilities and Review...11 7.2 Review of vermin, insects and scavenging birds control measures... 11 1
1 Introduction 1.1.1 This Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Management Plan outlines the methods by which Viridor will systematically assess, reduce and prevent potential infestations at the Lostock Waste Treatment Plant (WTP). The Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Management Plan is a working document with the specific aim of ensuring that: vermin, insects and scavenging birds are considered as part of routine inspections vermin, insects and scavenging birds are primarily controlled by good operational practices, including physical and management control measures all appropriate measures are taken to prevent or, where that is not reasonably practicable, to reduce vermin, insects and scavenging birds from the Waste Treatment Plant 1.1.2 This Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Management Plan addresses the risk of attracting vermin, insects and scavenging birds, hereafter known as pests in this report, and the control measures employed to mitigate the impact. These are supported through monitoring procedures to identify both elevated levels and review complaints should they arise. The complaints management procedure including the management responsibilities are also addressed. 2
2 Sources, Releases and Impacts 2.1.1 Pests may be attracted by the storage of putrescible wastes on site. 2.1.2 Properties, workplaces and the local human population are considered to be the receptors. The pathway for vermin, insects and scavenging birds is both by air and by land. 2.1.3 The risk of attracting vermin, insects and scavenging birds has been assessed as part of the overall risk assessment for the site and identified as a low overall risk. 2.1.4 Further details on the processes that may attract pests are provided in 02 Operating Techniques. 3
3 Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Control Measures 3.1.1 Physical and management measures have been included to control pestsat the WTP. These are discussed below separately. 3.2 Site Management Responsibility 3.2.1 The Technically Competent Manager (TCM) (or designated responsible person) will have responsibility for ensuring that nuisances and hazards arising from the facility due to vermin, insects and scavenging birds are minimised. Regular meetings will be instigated to discuss current and planned site operations that have the potential to attract pests. 3.3 Physical Control Measures 3.3.1 A comprehensive range of physical control measures will be implemented at the site, including: 3.3.2 Devices such as rat traps and ultraviolet fly traps will be placed around the buildings to control any pests. All traps will be monitored by a specialist contractor as appropriate. 3.3.3 Waste storage will be undertaken within enclosed buildings fitted with fast acting roller shutter doors that will prevent ready access to the waste and will deter scavenging birds. 3.3.4 Air extraction equipment will actively extract air from the waste reception hall and the waste treatment building. The air extraction system will induce a slight negative pressure within the relevant buildings. This negative pressure will promote the inflow of air into rather than out of the facility so that when the doors are open there is less potential for odour to leave the building and attract pests. 3.4 Management Control Measures 3.4.1 A comprehensive range of management control measures will be implemented at the site including: Operating the site in accordance with a First In, First Out principle; All waste unloading, loading, treatment and storage will be undertaken inside the WTP buildings; Waste will not be stored on site for more than two days to reduce the potential for infestations; 4
Easy access to waste in the reception halls will be prevented by ensuring doors are kept shut except when waste delivery vehicles are entering or exiting the buildings; Daily site inspections will identify any signs of infestation, a record of which will be kept in a site log, along with records of the use of vermin or insect control measures. On detection or notification of vermin or insect infestations, action will be taken to secure the attendance of a suitably trained operative or professional pest control contractor. On detection or notification of scavenging birds, appropriate action will be taken to remove or deter them from the site by bird control specialists. 5
4 Monitoring 4.1 General 4.1.1 All operational staff will be responsible for reporting any vermin, insect or scavenging bird problems immediately to the TCM (or designated responsible person). 4.1.2 As identified in Section 3.3, daily site inspections will identify any signs of infestation. 4.1.3 A record of any identified infestations will be kept in a site log, along with records of the use of vermin or insect control measures. 6
5 Vermin, Insects and Scavenging Birds Contingency Measures 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 Vermin and insect infestation and the presence of scavenging birds may be identified either by receipt of complaint from an affected third party, or by detection of pests as a result of the monitoring procedures detailed in Section 4. 5.1.2 This section details the contingency measures in place to identify the source of pests, eradicate them from the site and minimise their impact. 5.2 Vermin, insects and scavenging birds complaint investigation 5.2.1 A site diary, plus forms to record complaints, will be completed by the TCM (or designated responsible person) and input into the IMS. 5.2.2 As part of the BMS, a customer care and complaints procedure will be implemented. The customer care and complaints procedure applies to all complaints, feedback and requests made by third parties regarding Viridor's operational activities, environmental, health and safety performance or quality of service/product. 5.2.3 All complaints from third parties including external customers, potential customers, statutory authorities, statutory consultees, members of the general public and internal clients will be forwarded to the TCM (or designated responsible person) to action as below and recorded onto an online incident reports database within 72 hours. 5.2.4 The TCM (or designated responsible person) will ensure that: The complaint is investigated to identify the cause, if necessary this may involve direct communication with the complainant In the event of elevated levels of insects, vermin or scavenging birds being detected, the presence of abnormal on-site activity is assessed and if necessary preventative action is taken that will prevent a reoccurrence of the same problem. These actions must be documented The Complainant will be contacted and given information on the investigations conducted and actions taken as appropriate Complaints involving a location with Local Authority Contracts will be reported in line with specific Contract requirements and timescales. 7
All complaints are reported to Regional Directors and discussed at site meetings Details of other complaints are sent to the other Company personnel as appropriate. 5.3 Mitigation Measures to Manage Pest Infestation 5.3.1 Any pest infestation identified by the monitoring programme detailed in Section 4 and the customer care and complaints procedure identified in Section 5.2 will be mitigated as follows: The TCM (or designated responsible person) will commission an investigation to determine whether the source of vermin, insects or scavenging birds is located on the site. On detection or notification of vermin or insect infestations at the site, action will be taken to secure the attendance of a suitably trained operative or professional pest control contractor. On detection or notification of scavenging birds, appropriate action will be taken to remove or deter them from the site by bird control specialists. The TCM (or designated responsible person) will then carry out a range of checks at the identified source of the vermin, insect or scavenging bird infestation to ensure the plant is being operated to the manufacturer s specification, to the requirements set out in Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of this management plan, and to ensure that any improvements required to mitigate the infestation are made. This may include the clearing of all stockpiled waste either through processing or transportation directly to landfill and ensuring that waste is not stored for more than 2 days in the reception halls. 5.3.2 Once the improvements identified by the TCM (or designated responsible person) and suitably trained professional have been completed, the TCM (or designated responsible person) will undertake a further vermin, insect and scavenging bird assessment to ensure that the improvements have addressed the source of the infestation. If the infestation is still present then the manager will repeat the request for improvements and subsequent assessments until the infestation has been removed completely. 8
5.3.3 If operational failings are identified, the retraining of employees will take place to ensure that all employees operate to the required standards. If the failings are identified as part of the operating techniques then the problem will be raised as part of the review of control measures detailed in section 5.2. 5.3.4 The TCM (or designated responsible person) will ensure a close liaison with the Environment Agency throughout all stages of the process following the detection of an insect, vermin or scavenging bird infestation. 5.4 Reporting Measures 5.4.1 In the event of a pest infestation being identified, the event will be reported into an Issue Management System (IMS) by a member of operational staff. This IMS is accessed via the internal company intranet, known as the portal. Upon notification of an Environmental Incident, the TCM (or designated responsible person) will complete an incident reporting form. The completed form is then distributed throughout the company for review at operational, management and health and safety meetings. 5.4.2 All performance failures will be categorised for input into the IMS as follows; Minor event: quick fix possible, locally resolved; Medium event: brief disruption to service, Management intervention required; Major event: significant disruption to service significant disruption to service. 5.4.3 Each non-conformance category has a given deadline for rectification. 5.4.4 The IMS will record any actions taken to rectify the issue any necessary actions or review are recorded onto the IMS and the person reporting the incident is notified. 5.4.5 The TCM (or designated responsible person) will investigate the performance failure event within 2 hours and, if necessary, will report the event to the Environment Agency. Once the issue has been resolved, the corrective action taken will be entered onto the system and the issue will be closed. 9
6 Emergency Plans 6.1 General 6.1.1 Due to the control measures on site it is not considered that an emergency situation is likely to arise at the site as a result of pests. 10
7 Management Responsibilities and Review 7.1.1 The control of vermin, insects and scavenging birds will be managed according to the BMS which includes Environmental Management at the site accredited to ISO 14001. 7.1.2 It will be the responsibility of the TCM (or designated responsible person) to ensure that the Business Management System (BMS) is adhered to. This includes ensuring that the vermin, insect and scavenging bird control measures detailed in Chapter 3 are adhered to. 7.1.3 The TCM (or designated responsible person) will be supported by the Compliance Manager.. The Compliance Manager is responsible for monitoring, auditing and evaluation of site performance, which will include ensuring continued compliance with the ISO 14001 standard. 7.2 Review of vermin, insects and scavenging birds control measures 7.2.1 Vermin, insects and scavenging birds control measures will be reviewed through internal audits as part of the monitoring and reporting of the BMS. 7.2.2 With reference to vermin, insects and scavenging birds the internal audits will include but will not be limited to the following; Checks to ensure that any issues entered into the IMS have been resolved correctly. Visual inspections to ensure that there is no non compliant waste getting on to site. External Audits 7.2.3 External Audits of the BMS (BMS) will be carried out in order to achieve and maintain ISO14001 accreditation. 11