Module 13 - Waste Disposal of Trademarked Printed Materials

Hello - We're working on Level 1 SQF and am wondering how companies deal with section 13.8.1.4 "a documented procedure shall be in place for the controlled disposal of trademarked or other printed materials. Where a contracted disposal service is used, the disposal process shall be reviewed regularly to confirm compliance"

We use Waste Management and a large recycler in the Chicago area for disposing of print production waste. Basically it's all trademarked / branded materials - Any help would be appreciated

Tony,
Give your waste disposal contractor a call and explain your situation. I'm also in the Chicago area and our contracted disposal company is very familiar with accepted disposal procedures/guidelines for disposal of packaging with trademarked logos, ingredient panels, etc. Obviously companies protect their trademarked packaging so that bogus product isn't packaged in legitimate packaging materials.

Just write your procedure stating that you use XYZ Disposal Company and explain their procedure (for example "the packaging is incinerated upon arrival at the waste disposal facility". You'll also need to get documentation from your disposal company when you have situations like this come up (and retain the records per your stated FSMS retention period).

Regards,
esquef

Hi Tony,

Some destruction companies provide a Certificate of Destruction per load or a Letter of Guarantee that they will always handle your material as confidential and destroy accordingly – better option.

R

Hi Tony

We use a company that also provides a certificate of destruction, plus they also have a live web link so that we can witness the actual destruction taking place. They can also provide us with a DVD for our records.

I know I'm in the UK but I'm sure you have the same thing in the US.

Regards

Lawrence