What is a Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste

What is a Solid Waste? Generally, if a material can longer be used for its intended purpose, and the waste is being discarded, abandoned, recycled or deemed inherently waste-like, the material would be classified as a solid waste. The term “solid waste” does not refer to the physical state of the waste. Solid wastes can be solid, liquid, or containerized gas.

Certain solid wastes that are recycled are excluded from the definition of a solid waste. If a material is not a solid waste, it cannot be considered a hazardous waste. Materials that are excluded from being a solid waste when recycled are listed in the appropriate documentation. It is important to document the reasoning behind any exclusions used in the waste determination process.

What Is a Hazardous Waste?

Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. The universe of hazardous wastes is large and diverse. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, or containerized gases.

They can be the by-products of manufacturing processes, discarded used materials, or discarded unused commercial products, such as cleaning fluids (solvents) or pesticides.

Read Also : Guide to Waste Determination Process

In regulatory terms, a hazardous waste is a waste that appears on one of the four hazardous wastes lists (the F-list, K-list, P-list, or U-list) or that exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste- ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.

However, materials can be hazardous wastes even if they are not specifically listed or do not exhibit any characteristic of a hazardous waste.