What is the difference between hazardous waste and toxic waste

The terms solid, hazardous, and toxic are 3 adjectives used to describe different types of waste. While solid waste is relatively easy to recognize and understand, the terms hazardous and toxic tend to throw people off. Knowing what kind of waste you have is important when it comes to choosing the proper type of waste disposal, and you can always ask your waste management professional for help.

Keep reading for a brief overview of the differences between solid, hazardous, and toxic waste. The category of solid waste might seem self-explanatory, but it may also include more than you expected. Solid waste refers to the garbage in your trashcans, but it also includes wastes of different states of matter. Liquid and gaseous wastes, like sludge and pollutants, can also fall under the umbrella of solid waste.

The methods used will also depend on the analytical sensitivity required, the substances of interest, the containers and holding times involved and other factors.

A quality laboratory will be able to determine the best tests for your particular waste streams. Need Help? Due to the risks associated with hazardous waste disposal, Congress granted the U. Today, hazardous waste generators, or companies that produce waste, have a responsibility to practice and understand proper hazardous waste management. By adequately managing hazardous products, organizations can ensure the health and safety of their employees and avoid penalties and fines.

Because hazardous waste generators — any person who produces a hazardous waste as listed or characterized in part of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR — produce waste in different quantities, the EPA established three categories of generators :. State generator categories can differ from the federal categories, and most states are authorized to implement the RCRA program.

Hazardous waste generators are responsible for the hazardous products they produce as well as any expenditures affiliated with future releases of that waste. The EPA established the cradle-to-grave liability for all industries that produce hazardous waste. This liability applies to all hazardous waste generators under the RCRA.

A generator is responsible for their hazardous products from the time they create them until they dispose of them under cradle-to-grave liability, which helps to ensure that facilities choose responsible disposal, storage and treatment methods for the hazardous waste they generate.

Consequently, if hazardous wastes are released that have been land-disposed or land-filled, every party who has ever put waste into that landfill is responsible for cleanup costs. If your business is part of a certain industry, it may produce hazardous waste. These liquids, sludges, solids or gaseous materials can harm human health or the environment if disposed of improperly and thrown into landfills. These are some of the industries that commonly produce hazardous waste and the types of waste they produce, according to the EPA:.

Construction and similar industries tend to generate hazardous waste in many different forms, including:. The dry cleaning industry generates several types of chemical and solvent hazardous wastes at different facilities:. These facilities generate hazardous wastes, such as ignitable wastes, solvent wastes, paint wastes, acids and bases.

Equipment repair often involves processes, such as degreasing, rust removal, painting, paint removal and more. These processes generate hazardous wastes, such as acids, bases, ignitable wastes, paint wastes and solvents. Furniture manufacturing and refinishing processes generate several types of hazardous waste, including:. Laboratory applications, including diagnostic testing and other types of medical testing, generate hazardous wastes, such as spent solvents, reaction products and contaminated testing samples, plus materials like human tissue, contaminated gloves, containers, equipment and bandages.

Pesticide users, such as farms and commercial buildings, as well as pest control services, generate hazardous chemical wastes, like used and unused pesticides, solvent wastes, ignitable wastes, contaminated soil, contaminated rinse water and contaminated empty containers.

A few different processes within the textile manufacturing industry generate hazardous waste:. Waste requires special handling for several different reasons, including:. With all the rules and regulations in place, waste management is a complicated business. Many companies wish they could shift the burden of waste management from their shoulders to a trusted and reliable source. Luckily, ERC can help. We can help you find the waste solution that works best for your business , no matter how big or small, and we can help your business meet its sustainability goals, as well.

We offer waste transportation and disposal services , along with specific industrial waste management and waste management and recycling services. We specialize in a variety of industrial waste, from manufacturing and construction waste to pharmaceutical and marine waste. Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy. Contact Us. Call Us 1.

West Virginia. The Differences Between Hazardous and Non-Hazardous Waste Hazardous waste is waste that poses a severe threat to human health or the environment if improperly disposed of. To be classified as a P or U waste, a substance must meet the following three criteria: The waste must contain one of the chemicals on the P or U lists. The chemical in the waste must be unused. The chemical in the waste must be a commercial chemical product.

The EPA considers a commercial chemical product to be one that is either a percent pure commercial-grade product or one that is the sole active ingredient in a given chemical formation. Characteristic Waste The EPA considers characteristic waste to be waste that exhibits any of four properties: Ignitability: Hazardous wastes that demonstrate the characteristic of ignitability include the following: wastes with flashpoints of less than 60 degrees Celsius, non-liquid materials that cause fires, ignitable compressed gases and oxidizers.

Corrosivity: Corrosive hazardous wastes include acidic liquid wastes with a pH of two or less and basic liquid wastes that have a pH of Reactivity: Reactive hazardous wastes include wastes that are unstable under standard conditions, react with water, give off toxic fumes or have the capability to explode or detonate when they are heated. Toxicity: Toxic hazardous wastes include wastes that are harmful to health when swallowed or absorbed.

Toxic wastes are of particular concern because they can leach through soil and contaminate groundwater. Talk to an Expert Common Examples of Hazardous Waste Many pesticides, herbicides, paints, industrial solvents, fluorescent light bulbs and mercury-containing batteries are classified as hazardous wastes. Spent Solvent Wastes Some common types of spent solvent wastes include tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride and chlorinated fluorocarbons, all of which are spent halogenated solvents used in degreasing.

Electroplating and Other Metal-Finishing Wastes Electroplating and other metal-finishing wastes include spent cyanide bath plating solutions and any plating bath solutions and residues from operations where cyanides have been used.

Dioxin-Containing Wastes Dioxin-containing wastes include wastes from the production of tri-, tetra- or pentachlorophenol or their derivatives, which are usually pesticides. Wastes From the Production of Chlorinated Aliphatic Hydrocarbons Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene are often used as solvents in dry-cleaning and other industries.

Wood-Preserving Waste Wood-preserving waste is classified as hazardous waste if it comes from facilities that use the preservative creosote — a potential carcinogen — or arsenic or chromium preservatives. Petroleum Refinery Wastewater Treatment Sludge Any sludge created by the separation of oil, water and solids or by oily cooling wastewater during petroleum refining is classified as hazardous waste.

Leachate From Multiple Sources Leachate is any liquid that has percolated through waste disposed of on land. Common Wastes on the K List The hazardous wastes on the K list, unlike those on the F list, come from specific manufacturing and industrial sectors. Sources for the different types of wastes on the K list fall into one of the following 13 categories: Wood preservation Organic chemicals manufacturing Pesticides manufacturing Petroleum refining Veterinary pharmaceuticals manufacturing Inorganic pigment manufacturing Inorganic chemicals manufacturing Explosives manufacturing Iron and steel production Primary aluminum production Secondary lead processing Ink formulation Coal processing into coke A few of the common hazardous materials on the K list are the following: Bottom-sediment sludge from wood-preserving wastewater whose processes use creosote or pentachlorophenol, a pesticide and disinfectant.

Wastewater treatment sludge from the production of different-colored pigments. Distillation bottoms or side cuts from the transformation of ethylene into acetaldehyde. Still bottoms from the distillation of benzyl chloride. Heavy ends from the fractionation column in the production of ethyl chloride, often used as a topical anesthetic. Heavy ends from distillation in the production of ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride. Aqueous spent antimony catalyst waste from the production of fluoromethane, often used in the production of semiconductor or electronic products.

Distillation bottoms from the production of nitrobenzene. Centrifuge and distillation residues from the production of toluene diisocyanate, often used in foam for furniture, bedding, carpet underlay and in coatings, sealants and adhesives. Column bottoms or heavy ends from the combined production of trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, both industrial solvents.

Byproduct salts generated in the production of MSMA and cacodylic acid, both arsenic-based herbicides. Wastewater treatment sludge from the production of chlordane or creosote, or from toluene reclamation distillation in the production of disulfoton, a pesticide.

Filter cake from the filtration of diethylphosphorodithioic acid in the production of phorate, commonly used as a pesticide. Ask Us a Question Common Wastes on the P List Hazardous wastes on the P list are classified as acute hazardous waste — they are toxic to humans even at low doses or when properly managed.

Regulation of Non-Hazardous Waste The law regulates non-hazardous waste. Non-Hazardous Waste Disposal Methods Disposal methods for non-hazardous wastes vary because there are so many different types of waste and various regulations governing them.

Organic waste matter such as animal manure, urine and bedding material is non-hazardous waste, though chemical waste may be classified as hazardous waste. Batteries: Batteries contain heavy metals like lead, nickel and cadmium that could pollute the environment if the batteries went straight into the trash. Most batteries do not contain mercury — the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act of made mercury-free alkaline batteries standard. Only button cell batteries and mercuric oxide batteries are currently permitted to contain mercury.

Construction debris: Construction and demolition debris also falls into the category of non-hazardous waste. Many of the materials used in construction, such as wood, glass, concrete, asphalt, bricks, gypsum from drywall, plastics, solvents and metal parts, must be properly disposed of rather than tossed into the nearest dumpster.

The same goes for salvaged building components such as doors, windows and plumbing fixtures, as well as downed trees, limbs, rocks and dirt from clearing and excavation sites. Most non-hazardous construction debris goes to specially designated landfills for disposal. Industrial waste: Though some industrial waste is hazardous, most industries also produce substantial amounts of non-hazardous waste.

Substances like sugars, lactic acid, bromides and carbonates would not necessarily harm the environment but still must be managed properly to avoid pollution. Medical waste: Though some medical waste is classed as hazardous, about 85 percent of medical waste is non-hazardous waste, such as old equipment and non-contaminated animal tissue.

Health care facilities, medical research facilities, veterinary clinics and medical laboratories all generate medical waste. Municipal solid waste: Residential and commercial garbage containing products like packaging, furniture, consumer electronics, clothing, bottles, food remnants, appliances, paint, yard trimmings and so forth is non-hazardous waste.

Paper and paperboard combined to form the largest single component of municipal solid waste, making up about 25 percent of the total. Environmental engineers use a variety of techniques to remediate sites, including removing barrels, tanks, or soil for safe disposal; lining and capping pits; installing drainage systems; and seeding beneficial plants or bacteria to absorb or breakdown toxic materials.

Once the work is complete, monitoring and scheduled reviews are conducted to ensure that the area remains safe. Eventually, the site can be considered for reuse. See how close you live to a Superfund site. The Superfund program was launched in response to a series of high-profile toxic waste cases in the s. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email.

Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big.

Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country. Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Environment COP26 nears conclusion with mixed signals and frustration. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries.