This year, exploding nitrous oxide cylinders in waste processors’ ovens have caused 65 million euros in damage to waste processors, the Waste Management Association reported on Friday. According to the trade association, it is “a miracle” that no people have been injured by the explosions.
Since the beginning of this year, laughing gas has been on the list of prohibited substances in the Opium Act. Even though the government has recognized the danger of the drug, it has created a new problem. Previously, users could return the cylinders for a deposit of 30 euros per cylinder. Now that nitrous oxide is banned, the compensation no longer applies and the bottles end up in waste containers, according to the trade association of waste companies.
According to the Waste Companies Association, both employees and bystanders are at risk. “The cylinders are often still partly filled. If they are compressed in a cracker truck and explode, they will jump tens of meters away,” a spokesperson told the ANP news agency. Measures have already been taken in the past year. For example, the cabins of grabbing installations at waste processors are equipped with reinforced glass and, if spotted, they are picked out by hand.
The Ministries of Justice and Health have informed ANP that they are urgently finding a solution to the problem. Financial compensation for waste companies is being considered. According to the ministries, the problems are not the result of the ban, as claimed by the trade association. They state that there has never been an official deposit system. “There was its own system with a deposit from the laughing gas traders.” This only applied to refillable cylinders. The traders themselves have decided to stop the deposit, according to the ministries.
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