The Importance of Liquid Waste Management

How we manage our waste really matters. We’re all now aware of the importance of reusing and recycling what we can, both to prevent too much waste from going into landfill sites and to avoid the damage to the planet caused by creating new materials when there already exist perfectly usable alternatives.

But what about liquid waste management? It’s not something most of us have to think about as part of our day-to-day lives, but how we dispose of it is possibly even more important due to the massively harmful effects it can have if done carelessly, thoughtlessly and without full compliance with all the essential legislation that exists in this area.

But before we get into the reasons why proper liquid waste management and disposal matters, it’s important that we first understand what liquid waste is.

What is liquid waste?

Liquid waste comprises a range of substances that come from domestic, commercial and industrial premises and includes things like wastewater, oil, grease and industrial chemicals. Some of this – including much of our domestic waste – will end up in the sewers to be safely transported to a treatment plant.

But where liquid waste ends up in things like septic tanks, cesspits, oil interceptors and grease traps, it needs to be collected by a licensed operator who can ensure that it is disposed of safely at a place where it can be treated in such a way that it has no negative impact on the environment, on air quality or on us. If liquid waste were just disposed of where it was most convenient for the person who created it, the results could be catastrophic.

These are just a few of the reasons why the correct management of liquid waste is so important:

Preserving the environment

Many of the types of liquid waste we mentioned earlier come under the banner of ‘hazardous waste’, and that term is, if anything, understating the potential harm they can cause. 

If raw sewage, oil and chemicals were just dumped into fields, rivers and other watercourses and locations, the resulting pollution would have a devastating immediate effect on local wildlife and plantlife. We’ve all seen images on the news of dead fish in local rivers as a result of accidental industrial spillages – without organised and managed liquid waste disposal, that would be an everyday occurrence. And as many of the plants and creatures affected by such pollution are an essential part of the diet of those higher up the food chain, it’s no overstatement to say that this pollution would quickly decimate life on Earth.

Health & safety

Of course, it’s not just our environment that would suffer – that pollution would also probably end up in our crops and livestock, and eventually become ingested by us as part of our diets. Meanwhile, polluted water can become a breeding ground for diseases like cholera and typhoid – a common occurrence in some parts of the world, especially in overcrowded urban areas and refugee camps without proper sanitation in place. 

Air quality and mental health

Even if liquid waste isn’t being disposed of in such a way that it’s causing the kind of harm to the environment and human health outlined above, it can still make our world a far more unpleasant place to live in if not properly treated after disposal at designated sites. The smells of liquid waste that hasn’t been treated would permeate the every waking moment of those in the area, and it has been demonstrated that this kind of ongoing discomfort can have a significant impact on our mental health.

Here at AA Turner Tankers, we’re experienced, licensed operators who know and understand the importance of proper liquid waste management. Working in and around Colchester, Essex and Suffolk, our fleet of modern tankers is equipped to deal with all your liquid waste, offering reliable and professional services that include emptying, cleaning and servicing septic tanks, cesspits, oil interceptors, gully traps and sewage tanks.

Give us a call now or fill in our online form for a rapid response and a competitive, no-obligation quotation for your liquid waste disposal needs.