We aspire to the highest operating standards in line with SITA UK’s environmental policy commitment to satisfy and where feasible surpass all legislative and regulatory requirements.
SITA UK has developed an internal audit programme to evaluate objectively the impact of the Company's activities which acts as a driver for continued development. To enhance the routine inspections undertaken by our operational staff and the Environment Agency, our environmental compliance technicians inspect all of our sites every one to three months against an exhaustive set of criteria similar to those used by the Environment Agency. In addition, a team of qualified environmental auditors undertake more in depth audits as part of our Quality and Environmental Management System. These audits identify and prioritise any compliance issues against the legislative benchmarks and company policies and procedures.
To make effective use of the audit programme, SITA UK operates a compliance and auditing systems database (COMPAS), which records the results of all the inspections. Once on the database, all relevant personnel are notified with details of any non compliance and a remedial plan is produced for agreement with the Environment Agency, if necessary. Corrective and preventative actions undertaken are reviewed to ensure complaince.
Risk Assessment is an important tool for environmental management in the waste industry. It is being used to understand how waste material in landfill can be managed so that it is not a hazard to the environment. Using computer modelling and annual environment monitoring reports, we can assess the risk of contamination from a landfill site to the groundwater and the possible migration of landfill gas. This provides an early identification system of any increasing risk, enabling preventative or corrective measures to be put in place to protect the surrounding environment.
