Solvent waste

Organic solvents cannot just be flushed down the sink. They are disposed in solvent waste containers to collect them for burning.

Waste organic solvents are separated into two separate waste containers:

• Halogenated Halogentaed solvent waste is used for organic solvents that contain a halogen atom such as Cl, F, Br and I. These compounds have to be burned at very high temperatures to minimize the formation of toxic dioxins.

• Non-halogenated Non-halogenated solvent waste can be burned for energy recovery under standard conditions, hence it is much cheaper to process non-halogenated solvent waste.

The high disposal costs of halogenated solvent wastes makes it necessary to collect these solvents separately.