Hazardous Waste

Overview & Applicability

Hazardous wastes are wastes that pose a danger to human health and the environment if they are disposed of improperly. Hazardous wastes may be generated from a variety of activities and areas on campus, including chemical laboratories, art studios, physical plant operations, photography studios, and vehicle maintenance areas.

Key Definitions

Characteristic Wastes—Wastes that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity.

Generator—Any person or business that produces hazardous waste or first causes hazardous waste to become subject to RCRA regulations.

Hazardous Waste—Wastes that meet EPA’s definition for solid waste and possess the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity (as defined by RCRA) or are included on an EPA list of hazardous.

Hazardous Waste Minimization—Reducing the amount or toxicity of waste produced by a generator, by either source reduction or environmentally sound recycling.

Land Disposal Restrictions—Rules that require hazardous wastes to be treated before they are land disposed to destroy or immobilize hazardous constituents that might otherwise migrate into soil and ground water.

Listed Wastes—Specific wastes determined by EPA to be hazardous and published in EPA lists. These lists are organized into three categories: source-specific wastes, nonspecific source wastes, and commercial chemical products.

Manifest—A multicopy shipping form used to identify the type and quantity of waste, the generator, the transporter, and the TSDF to which the waste is being shipped. The manifest includes copies for all participants in the waste shipment chain and is often obtained from the state agency.

Solid Waste—Discarded material, such as garbage, refuse, and sludge (including solids, semisolids, liquids, or contained gaseous material)

Transporter—Hazardous waste transporters pick up properly packaged and labeled hazardous waste from generators and transport it to designated facilities that treat, store, recycle, or dispose of the waste. Transporters are subject to specific hazardous waste regulations, both by EPA and DOT.

Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility—Facilities that receive hazardous waste from generators or other facilities for treatment, storage or disposal.