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FACTS ABOUT SOLID
WASTE
RCRA Solid Waste
Defined
According to EPA
regulations, solid
waste means any
garbage, or refuse,
sludge from a
wastewater treatment
plant, water supply
treatment plant, or
air pollution
control facility and
other discarded
material, including
solid, liquid,
semisolid, or
contained gaseous
material resulting
from industrial,
commercial, mining,
and agricultural
operations, and from
community
activities.
Municipal Landfills
Municipal landfills
collect household
garbage. These
landfills are
predominately
regulated by State
and local
governments. EPA
has, however,
established minimum
criteria that these
landfills must meet
in order to remain
open. The only
hazardous waste that
municipal landfills
can accept is
household hazardous
waste and waste that
is exempt from
hazardous waste
regulation.
Recycling
Recycling prevents
the emissions of
many greenhouse
gases and water
pollutants, and
saves energy.
Recycling also
supplies valuable
raw materials to
industry, creates
jobs, stimulates the
development of
greener
technologies,
conserves resources
for future
generations, and
reduces the need for
new landfills and
combustors.
Recycling creates
new products such as
aluminum cans,
newspapers, cereal
boxes, paper towels,
egg cartons,
carpeting, motor
oil, car bumpers,
nails, trash bags,
glass containers,
comic books, and
laundry detergent
bottles. Steps in
the recycling
process include
collecting the
recyclable
components of
municipal solid
waste, separating
materials by type,
processing them into
reusable forms, and
purchasing and using
the goods made with
reprocessed
materials.
Using recovered
material generates
less solid waste.
Recycling helps to
reduce the pollution
caused by the
extraction and
processing of virgin
materials. Also,
when products are
made using recovered
rather than virgin
materials, less
energy is used
during manufacturing
and fewer pollutants
are emitted.
Educating the public
about the benefits
of recycling and/or
providing economic
incentives will get
more people involved
in recycling.
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RCRA
Defined
RCRA is the
Resource
Conservation
and Recovery
Act, which
was enacted
by Congress
in 1976.
RCRA's
primary
goals are to
protect
human health
and the
environment
from the
potential
hazards of
waste
disposal, to
conserve
energy and
natural
resources,
to reduce
the amount
of waste
generated,
and to
ensure that
wastes are
managed in
an
environmentally
sound
manner.
RCRA
regulates
the
management
of solid
waste (e.g.,
garbage),
hazardous
waste, and
underground
storage
tanks
holding
petroleum
products or
certain
chemicals.
More about
RCRA.
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The RCRA
hazardous
waste
program
regulates
commercial
businesses
as well
as
federal,
State,
and
local
government
facilities
that
generate,
transport,
treat,
store,
or
dispose
of
hazardous
waste.
Each of
these
entities
is
regulated
to
ensure
proper
management
of
hazardous
waste
from the
moment
it is
generated
until
its
ultimate
disposal
or
destruction.
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The RCRA
municipal
solid
waste
program
regulates
owners
and
operators
of
municipal
solid
waste
landfills.
The
regulations
stipulate
minimum
criteria
that
each
landfill
must
meet in
order to
continue
operating.
RCRA
regulations
require
public
participation,
such as
public
meetings,
throughout
the
permitting
process for
new
hazardous
and solid
waste
treatment,
storage, or
disposal
facilities.
Public
participation
provides
citizens
with a forum
to express
their
concerns
over the
construction
of a new
facility.
The public
may also
discuss
environmental
problems and
concerns
over waste
management
with their
local or
State
government
waste
management
agency.
Another
resource for
solid and
hazardous
waste issues
is your
EPA Regional
office.
Integrated Waste Management
States and
communities
across the
nation are
actively
pursuing an
integrated
solid waste
management
approach
because no
single waste
management
option alone
can handle
all of our
nation's
waste. The
goal of the
integrated
waste
management
approach is
to handle
each element
of a
community's
waste stream
in the most
effective,
cost-efficient,
safe, and
environmentally
beneficial
manner as is
realistically
practical.
Integrated
waste
management
involves the
proper mix
of all of
several
waste
management
approaches,
depending
upon the
prevailing
local
economic and
environmental
conditions:
source
reduction,
composting,
incineration,
recycling,
and
landfills.
Most
communities
use a
combination
of several
or all of
these
options to
manage their
waste
streams.
Each of
these
options has
both
benefits and
costs that
will make it
more
appropriate
in some
situations
and less in
others.
Source
Reduction
Source
reduction,
often called
waste
prevention,
means
consuming
and throwing
away less.
Source
reduction
includes
purchasing
durable,
long-lasting
goods and
seeking
products and
packaging
that are as
free of
toxics as
possible. It
can be as
complex as
redesigning
a product to
use less raw
material in
production,
have a
longer life,
or be used
again after
its original
use is
completed.
Because
source
reduction
actually
prevents the
generation
of waste in
the first
place, it is
the most
preferable
method of
waste
management
and goes a
long way
toward
protecting
the
environment.
Composting
Composting
is a natural
biological
process that
reduces the
waste stream
into a
product that
can be used
as a soil
amendment.
It has
become an
alternative
for managing
yard waste
around the
country.
Other
communities
are also
investigating
solid waste
composting
to manage
the
non-recyclable
fraction of
the
municipal
waste
stream.
Incineration
Incineration,
or the
burning of
waste to
produce
energy, has
also been an
attractive
waste
processing
approach for
many
communities
around the
country.
Properly
operated
incineration
projects can
provide
energy in
the form of
electricity
or processed
steam, while
reducing the
volume of
waste that
must be
landfilled
by a
significant
fraction.
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