Waste

According to Decree-Law 102-D/2020¹ (General Regime for Waste Management), the responsibility for waste management, including the respective costs, lies with the initial waste producer*. They must also, in accordance with the principles of the waste hierarchy and of the protection of human health and the environment, ensure the treatment of the waste, and to this end may resort, depending on the type of waste

To a dealer or a waste broker;
A waste treatment operator;
An entity in charge of specific waste flow management systems;
To a municipal or multimunicipal waste collection and/or treatment system.

Thus, UTAD is responsible for the management of its waste within the campus until the licensed operators collect it. Thus, it is necessary that there are rules for the management of waste produced at UTAD.

According to the legislation, there are several types of waste divided into two major groups, namely non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste.

* “Waste producer” means any natural or legal person whose activity produces waste, i.e. an initial waste producer, or who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other operations that change the nature or composition of this waste (according to article 3.1.v) of Decree-Law 102-D/2020)”.

Non-hazardous Waste

At UTAD, a municipal or multimunicipal waste collection and/or treatment system is used for the collection of undifferentiated waste. Selective waste (paper, plastic, glass, electrical and electronic equipment, among others) is collected by licensed companies for subsequent recovery.

Undifferentiated	They are all those that cannot be reused or recycled, such as boxes with grease, ceramics, and these should be placed in black bags and general garbage containers. After the internal collection of this waste in accordance with the circuit defined for this purpose, it is then forwarded for final disposal by the municipal company responsible.
Cardboard – blue containers	This waste is collected by the cleaning staff. Care should be taken not to mix the collected paper with other waste so that it can follow the pre-established circuit. After the internal collection of this waste, according to the circuit defined for this purpose, it is then forwarded for final disposal by the company responsible. IMPORTANT NOTE: For paper to be recycled, it cannot be dirty, otherwise it must be placed in the undifferentiated waste container. For example: Napkins after being used cannot be placed in the blue container!
Packaging – yellow container (plastic and metal)	After emptying all the packaging, it must be placed in the packaging. After the internal collection of this waste, according to the circuit defined for this purpose, it is then forwarded to final destination by the company responsible.
Glass – green color container	Should be separated from the other waste produced and stored in appropriate containers at the production site, usually identified with the green color. After the internal collection of this waste in accordance with the circuit defined for this purpose, it is then forwarded for final disposal by the municipal company responsible. CURIOSITIES: Did you know that the Compal type juice caps and the beer bottle caps must follow along with the glass bottles to the green ecoponto? Sociedade Ponto Verde has defined when caps that appear to be less than 5 centimeters in diameter are considered small, so they go together with the bottles to the green recycling bin (https://recicla.pt/abc-da-reciclagem/o-que-fazer-com-as-tampas-no-que-toca-a-reciclagem/ [PT])². How do you recycle paper coffee cups? The paper coffee cup should be placed in the yellow ecoponto. As cardboard is an absorbent material, the cup has a plastic film that waterproofs its interior, so it should be placed in the yellow ecoponto. This material is separated and sent for recycling. If you received another answer about this material, it may be that in some areas of the country this practice is not yet implemented, since this is a material whose consumption has increased a lot recently and for which there is no easy sorting solution (https://linhadareciclagem.pt/perguntas-frequentes/seccao/perguntas-frequentes-reciclagem [PT])³.
Electron	The separation process of waste electrical and electronic equipment should be treated according to the administrative procedure of UTAD’s material disposal via GesDoc. The lamps are included in this waste stream. After the administrative procedure of disposal, the waste is placed in a Ponto Eletrão or forwarded to the managing entity of WEEE with the scope of licensing in this area.

Hazardous waste

A hazardous waste is any waste that presents at least one hazardous characteristic to health or the environment, namely those identified as such in the European Waste List. In this list, waste classified as hazardous waste is marked with *.

Being identified based on their properties and on the classification criteria established by law, they are produced in various sectors and activities, and given their nature, their correct management must be ensured.

The proper packaging of hazardous waste is divided into several phases. One of them involves placing the waste in the respective plastic bag, placed in an appropriate container, according to the group and associated hazardousness, in the place where it is produced.

In accordance with the provisions of dispatch no. 242/965, the bags to be used for packaging hazardous hospital waste are white in the case of group III waste – Biological Hazardous Hospital Waste or red in the case of group IV waste – Specific Risk Hazardous Hospital Waste, with the exception of non-drilling waste, which must be conditioned in specific non-drilling containers.

Hospital waste is identified according to its hazardousness and LER code (see Waste Classification Guide [PT]⁶) and separated into four major groups:

Group I and II

These are non-hazardous residues and are equivalent to urban solid residues, and do not require special treatment. They are residues from general and administrative services, common packaging and wrappings, orthopedic material without traces of blood, IPE’s, among others, which should be subject to sorting that allows their recycling or reuse, and the surplus should be conditioned in black bags and sent to the same final destination as the urban solid residues.

Group III

Biological risk waste, that is, waste that is contaminated or suspected of contamination. Examples are residues resulting from the administration of blood and blood products, orthopedic material with traces of blood, material that has been in contact with contaminated products, among others. These should be packaged in the production site in white plastic bags, with the indication of biological risk, and temporarily stored in a specific green container.
They are then forwarded to their final destination by a certified operator, after filling out the e-GAR’s – waste monitoring guides.

Group IV

Group IV hospital waste is chemical risk waste and other specific waste, such as sharps (needles, scalpels, blades, syringes with attached needles), identifiable anatomical parts, rejected chemicals and drugs, cytostatics and all the material used in their manipulation and administration, among others. Hazardous liquid waste that comes in contact with biological material is also classified in this group.
These wastes must be conditioned in red bags and placed in specific red containers, with the exception of sharps, which must be conditioned in yellow non-perforated containers with a red lid. Collection for final disposal will be carried out by the certified operator, after completion of the e-GAR’s – waste tracking forms.

References | Supporting Documents

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