The BPF produces new environmental guide

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has produced a new guidance document to help companies implement Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 510:2021 — the world’s first standard to help prevent the loss of plastic pellet, flake and powder to the environment. 

The PAS was developed with the involvement of the Scottish Government, industry, NGOs and investors. It builds upon Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), an international, industry-led initiative to minimise the risk of plastic raw materials accidentally ending up in rivers, waterways and oceans.

The new document is intended to help companies become PAS-compliant, covering all the requirements a company needs to consider, from assigning responsibilities to operational controls and performance evaluation. 

By implementing the PAS and following the guidance, the BPF claim companies benefit from being able to ensure investors, customers and stakeholders that they have a robust system in place when it comes to handling plastic raw materials. Both PAS 510:2021 and the new accompanying guidance document are free for anyone to use.

If a company already implements an ISO 14001, ISO 45001 or ISO 9001 it will have an environmental, health and safety or quality policy in place; PAS 510:2021 is no different — it involves developing a raw material prevention policy to eliminate raw material losses to the environment. 

The document provides an example of such a policy that companies can adapt. It also covers organisational responsibilities and how these different responsibilities should be communicated within a company, as well as externally with various stakeholders.

The guidance explains what site areas a risk assessment needs to cover, how often it should be carried out and by whom, with an example risk assessment provided. It also breaks down operational controls into three categories: prevention, containment and clean-up, Staff training and communication.