03/25/2014

Reusing Waste and Avoiding Sham Recycling

To encourage recycling and keep more hazardous waste out of landfills and the ecosystem, the US EPA established the “reuse relief” in its hazardous waste regulations. The relief, found at 40 CFR 261.2(e), excludes certain materials from the definition of solid waste when they are reused in a beneficial way. In general, the exclusion applies when an otherwise hazardous waste is reused in one of three ways...

10/22/2013

Cutting Costs With Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment is a critical tool for organizations seeking ways to reduce their environmental impact, manage waste more efficiently, and reduce compliance costs. Also called life cycle analysis or “cradle-to-grave” analysis, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is designed to gauge how a product will impact the environment throughout its life—from the initial sourcing of raw materials to eventual waste disposal...

02/26/2013

Managing Hazardous Waste as Used Oil

In general, the EPA does not consider used oils to be hazardous waste. In establishing proper management standards for these wastes, the EPA presumed that recycling, from re-refining to burning as fuel, would occur. The used oil rules at 40 CFR 279 are less burdensome than the hazardous waste regulations (40 CFR 260-270). In some circumstances, the EPA even allows...

11/27/2012

How to Avoid Speculative Accumulation

Recycling hazardous waste is a great way to save the planet and your bottom line. The RCRA regulations include many provisions under which hazardous wastes can be legitimately recycled scattered throughout 40 CFR Part 261, Subpart A. When you recycle hazardous waste, you are exempt from the following regulations that apply to hazardous waste...

10/23/2012

Precious Metals Recycling

09/25/2012

RCRA Options for Recycling Waste Lead-acid Batteries

Although lead-acid batteries generally exhibit the hazardous waste characteristic of toxicity for lead (D008) and would be subject to significant restrictions when discarded, the EPA encourages their recycling by providing two alternative management standards. Lead-acid batteries may be managed as “universal waste” under 40 CFR Part 273 or under the specific alternative standards of...

07/26/2011

New Issues for Hazardous Waste Recycling

The EPA is proposing further amendments to the hazardous waste regulations in order to encourage the recycling of hazardous secondary materials while protecting low-income and minority communities from pollution. This proposal would limit the opportunities for waste generators to exclude hazardous secondary materials intended for recycling from the hazardous waste regulations. This proposal also introduces...

07/06/2011

EPA Proposes Modifications to 2008 Definition of Solid Waste Rule

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule to modify the 2008 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule. The DSW rule had been intended to promote recycling of “hazardous secondary materials.” The EPA’s proposed modifications are in response to concerns raised by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups through various court actions...

04/29/2011

Question of the Week: Recycling Lead Batteries: Part 266 vs. Part 273