What Are Persistent Organic Pollutants – What You Need To Know
We understand that the clearance of your home or business can be extremely stressful. Hiring professionals to undertake clearance services for you can help alleviate this demanding task, and remove a host of worries from you and your family. One concern we often don’t think about whilst moving is disposing of unwanted, and even potentially dangerous items. In this article, we will be taking a deeper look at persistent organic pollutants, and outline everything you need to know about these damaging chemicals.
What Are Persistent Organic Pollutants?
Persistent organic pollutants or POPs for short, can be described as hazardous substances that are not so easily broken down within the environment. POPs can be extremely damaging for your health and the environment. These nasty chemicals can stick around for an extended period of time, making them an ongoing concern. They can also be present in many different sources, including industrial byproducts, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. But, what does POP waste consist of?
What Does POP Waste Consist Of?
When it comes to house clearances, it’s important to be aware of POPs (or Persistent Organic Pollutants). In addition to being found in more industrial spaces, POPs may be present within many different household items such as electronics, various cleaning products and even some furniture.
During the clearance of your home, you may find that you want to dispose of items such as these. When getting rid of these items, it’s vital that you do so in a responsible manner. According to the official West Lancashire Government site, ‘from 1st January 2023 this waste cannot be disposed of in landfill and is required to be incinerated. Meaning hiring a professional team who are knowledgeable about these potentially harmful chemicals could save you alot of time and stress. Your clearance team will know what items could potentially contain POPs that need to be sent through a hazardous waste disposal program.
The Issues Associated With Improper Disposal
POPs need to be handled with proper care – particularly when they are being disposed of. If you have waste that includes these hazardous chemicals, they will need to be destroyed, meaning they cannot be recycled or reused.
- POPs & Human Exposure
As mentioned above, human exposure to POPs can be extremely harmful. Even at lower levels POPs can lead to many negative health effects such as alterations to your immune system, intoxicating and increased cancer risks. This is why it’s imperative that POPs are disposed of and stored away in an approved way so they are not being used.
- How POPs Affects The Environment
In addition to affecting us humans and our health, POPs can also be extremely damaging to the planet. As they do stick around for a long period of time, these persistent organic pollutants can be an ongoing, and even global concern for the environment. These nasty chemicals can build over time, and pass between species of animals. Through the food chain, POPs can continue to affect the planet for years to come.
- Disposing of POPs The Correct Way
Once you have identified POPs in your waste, then it’s important that you follow guidance on how to properly manage the disposal process. According to the Waste Duty Of Care Practise, you have to ‘ensure that any person you transfer the waste to has the correct authorisation’. Through using a local clearance service, you can avoid this problem altogether.
Not only will you have the worry of having to dispose of harmful chemicals, but you will also not have to be concerned about having unauthorised parties handling compromised items. Here at Greenleaf Clearance, we operate in the Surrey and London house clearance sector, managing POP waste frequently. With our fully licensed and professional team, we can ensure that all your unwanted items are disposed of in a correct and safe manner.
How To Try & Attempt The Clearance of POP Waste Yourself
It is not recommended that you try to get rid of these harmful chemicals yourself – as mentioned above, they can negatively impact your health and the environment if not disposed of correctly. It’s important to work with a reputable house clearance company that are fully aware of all the risks that are associated with POPs. Here at Greenleaf Clearance, we have set protocols in place which means that we can handle everything safely.
If during your clearance, you are concerned about persistent organic pollutants being present in your home, then we would also recommend getting a professional assessment completed. This can help you identify any risks, and even allow you to develop a plan for directly addressing them. By being fully aware of any POPs present, we can take as many steps as possible to minimise expression. This can ensure a much safer and healthier living space for yourself and your family.
London House Clearance Services: How We Can Help You
As well as being a friendly face during the stressful time of clearing out your home, we also offer a range of house clearance services, including the removal of POPs. Our passionate and knowledgeable team can help when it comes to carefully sorting through your belongings, allowing you to clearly identify which items will need to be disposed of in a more specialised manner. We are committed to your house clearance being as smooth as possible, as well as minisming harmful waste and the environmental impact whilst doing so. If you need more information about our London house clearance services, you can contact us today at 0808 164 8226.
