contractors - protect yourself from legal liabilities

2 Things You Should Be Doing To Comply With Environmental Laws

26 January 2016

Lawrence Ross

As a small business owner, it can be a challenge to keep up with all the responsibilities you need to take care of. However, depending on where you live and what type of business you have, you may also need to adhere to certain environmental regulations and guidelines. Here are some things you need to do to make sure that you are in compliance with any laws.

Label Waste

One way that you could be violating any environmental guidelines in place is that you could be failing to label toxic substances. You might not think you have any poisonous things on your work site, but here are some things that your company may use that might need to be labeled:

cleaning products
dyes
paint
pesticides
certain types of batteries

If you aren't sure what counts as waste in your state, it is a good idea for you to consult your state's Environmental Protection Agency to make sure.

Of course, it is not enough for you to know what you need to label; you need to make sure that all your employees know what kinds of products need to be separated out from other waste and labeled appropriately. Be sure to include this information during any training of new personnel and post reminders for everyone so that those materials are taken care of in the right way. If you or one of your employees do not properly label toxic materials, you might very well face hefty fines as a result when those materials are transported to another location. Remember to also label any holding or storage areas.

Dispose Properly of any Hazardous Materials

It is not enough to know about and label toxic substances; it is imperative that you dispose of them properly. You or one of your employees might just toss toxic substances in with your other company trash because you don't think anyone can tell what you're doing. However, you need to know that not only can many municipal sewer systems track where certain chemicals come from, you could be charged with a felony or misdemeanor for illegal dumping.

Make sure you use the suggestions above to help you comply with any environmental guidelines your town or city may have. To protect yourself and your business, you might consider consulting an environmental law attorney who can help you ensure that you are taking necessary steps to follow any rules or regulations.

For an environmental law attorney, contact a law firm such as Moore Smith Buxton & Turcke-Chartered.

Share

About Me

My husband has worked in the construction industry for nearly twenty years. Three years ago, he decided to open his own business performing renovation work. Having so much experience helped him land clients and showed him that he has to protect himself from the clients that aren't so easy to please. We started working with an attorney in the beginning to have all of the contracts drawn up and have called when things go badly with clients. This blog will show you what you need to do to protect yourself from legal liabilities when you work as a contractor in today's world.