WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF HAZARDOUS AND NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE?
MEANING OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
Hazardous waste is the type of waste that poses a serious threat to the environment or human health if it is not disposed of properly. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a substance is a hazardous waste if it appears on a specific list of hazardous wastes or exhibits the established characteristics of hazardous waste. The regulation of hazardous waste is made under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
COMMON TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
Many mercury-containing batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, industrial solvents, paints, herbicides, and pesticides are classified as hazardous wastes. In addition, medical waste products such as sharps, contaminated gloves, human tissue, and so forth. Below are a few common examples of hazardous wastes.
Wastes appear on one of four officials lists: F, K, P, and U.
The F list identifies non-source-specific hazardous wastes from common manufacturing and industrial applications. The K list identifies source-specific wastes from specific areas within manufacturing and industry.
The P and U lists define wastes that consist of pure, commercial-grade formulations of specific unused chemicals.
COMMON F-LIST WASTES
The hazardous wastes on the EPA’s F list are divided into seven different categories based on the industrial application from which they originate:
- Spent Solvent Wastes
- Electroplating and other metal-finishing wastes
- Dioxin-containing wastes
- Wastes from the production of Chlorinated Aliphatic Hydrocarbons
- Wood-preserving waste
- Petroleum refinery wastewater treatment sludge
- Leachate from multiple sources
COMMON K-LIST WASTES
Unlike those on the F list, the hazardous wastes on the K list come from specific industrial and manufacturing sectors. Here are a few common hazardous materials on the K list:
- Filter cake
- Wastewater treatment sludge
- Byproducts salts
- Column bottoms or heavy ends
- Centrifuge and distillation residues
- Distillation bottoms
- Aqueous spend antimony catalyst waste
- Heavy ends from distillation
- Heavy ends from the fractionation column
- Still bottoms
- Distillation bottoms or side cuts
- Wastewater treatment sludge
- Bottom-sediment sludge
COMMON P-LIST WASTES
Hazardous wastes on the P list are classified as acute hazardous wastes. It is toxic to humans even at low doses or when appropriately managed.
The examples of acute hazardous wastes on the P list include:
- Toxaphene
- Thallic oxide
- Tetraethyl lead
- Strychnine and salts
- Nitrogen oxide and dioxide
- Nitric oxide
- Nicotine and salts
- Fluorine
- Epinephrine
COMMON U-LIST WASTES
A few common hazardous wastes on the U list include:
- Acetone
- Acrylic acid
- Benzene
- Diethylhexyl phthalate
- Methyl bromide
- Chlorobenzene
- Chloroform
- Methyl chloride
- Creosote
- DDT
- Dichlorodifluoromethane
- Dimethyl sulfate
- Ethyl acetate
- Mercury
MEANING OF NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE
Non-hazardous waste, by contrast, does not pose a severe threat to the environment or human health, but you still cannot dump it into a trash receptacle or a sewer line because of the risks it could pose. Most of the waste produced in the US include – metals, glass, plastics, paper, etc., — is a non-hazardous waste because it is not toxic.
The RCRA considers the category of solid non-hazardous wastes to include solid materials and garbage. Under this definition, other substances such as containers, liquids, semisolids, and slurries are considered solid waste.
COMMON TYPES OF NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE
Below are few common non-hazardous waste examples:
- Special wastes: include fossil fuel combustion waste, natural gas waste, waste from mining practices and mineral processing, and crude oil
- Scrap tires
- Municipal solid waste
- Medical waste
- Industrial waste
- Construction debris
- Batteries
- Agricultural waste
WHY DOES WASTE REQUIRE SPECIAL HANDLING?
Waste requires special handling for several different reasons including:
- Protection of human health
- Protecting the environment
- Preventing fires, leaks, and spills
- Developing and encouraging sustainable practices
ROLE OF CWE IN HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING
CWE operates under RCRA-permitted areas and performs under the Waste Analysis and Acceptance Plan (WAP) procedures. Hazardous waste procedures heavily influence our standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at both our Dayton and Mansfield facilities. At Clean Water Environmental, we treat all aspects of our waste receiving, permitted or not, the same way we treat the most complex materials.