No Aircraft
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Ramp supervisor gave me and members of my crew a directive to throw the used spill absorbent into the large general refuse containers on the ramp. We were unsure of what kinds of spills were in each bag of used materials and were told to put them all in the trash. I later found out that we are not supposed to dump them all together because of the dangers of mixing chemicals. After dumping all of the used absorbents in the trash bins and cleaning out the spill carts; supervisor insisted we go to the fuel porter and empty the containers over there. Supervisor had my crewmembers stick their hands in the full trash can of unknown objects with no protection but thin rubber gloves. He also had them dump unbagged; spent hazardous materials (spill absorbent) in a large general trash receptacle. I suggested we find out if we were allowed to do these things before we do them. Supervisor ignored my suggestions. I believe that my crew and I should have the proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for this type of task; and were unprepared; as we are not trained in how to handle and dispose of such waste; and what type of PPE we should be using. I am also concerned about the safety of those who will further handle the spent absorbent because it was not discarded in a hazardous waste receptacle. These are not typical ramp duties so we were not knowledgeable about how to perform these tasks.
Ramp person reported receiving orders from a supervisor to dispose of Hazardous material improperly.