EPA’s New Definition of Solid Waste Rule

On December 10, 2014, US EPA signed a Final Rule to revise many of the recycling provisions associated with the “definition of solid waste” (DSW). The long-awaited Final Rule revises the exclusions from RCRA for recycled/recyclable hazardous secondary materials that were added to the hazardous waste regulations in 2008. The rule also adds requirements that generators and third-party recyclers must follow in order to qualify for regulatory relief.

US EPA estimates that the new definition of solid waste rule will affect about 5,000 industrial facilities, mostly in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing sectors explicitly listed include:

• Metals and metal products;
• Wood products;
• Paper;
• Machinery;
• Computers and electronics;
• Petroleum and coal products;
• Chemicals, plastics, and rubber products; and
• Transportation equipment.

A pre-publication version of the rule is available on the EPA’s website. The new rule becomes effective six months after it appears in the Federal Register. Because each state in the US is authorized to oversee its own RCRA program, State environmental authorities will now decide whether or not to adopt this change to the Federal definition of solid waste. The EPA predicts a majority of states will adopt the revised recycling provisions.

Get Up to Speed with New Recycling Rules

Discover how EPA’s revised DSW rule may affect your responsibilities for recycling certain hazardous secondary materials at the New Definition of Solid Waste Webinar. Presented live and led by an expert Lion instructor, the one-hour webinar will guide you through the new requirements for generators, changes to the standards for third-party recyclers, and what you must do to keep your RCRA operations in compliance with EPA rules.

Tags: hazardous, new rules, RCRA, recycling, waste