Mixed waste definition

DOE acknowledged the dual regulatory framework for mixed waste in 1987 with a notice clarifying the definition of byproduct material (DOE, 1987b). In this notice, DOE issued a final interpretive rule establishing that the exclusion of byproduct material at Section 1004(27) of RCRA applied only to the radionuclides in mixed waste and that the nonradioactive portion of the waste was subject to RCRA. In addition, in 1987, DOE recognized that RCRA LDRs (see Section 4.2.2) and other RCRA requirements applied to transuranic waste intended for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (see Section 4.1.2.3.2). 

A striving to embody all the desired attributes of the new system, while recognizing that this may take many years and that a number of important benefits can be obtained by interim implementation of parts of the system. The most important areas in which interim implementations are likely to be beneficial include the establishment of exemption levels for radionuclides and hazardous chemicals in waste, to allow hazardous wastes to be managed as nonhazardous material or to allow mixed waste to be managed as radioactive or hazardous chemical waste only, and the elimination of source-based definitions of hazardous wastes, especially radioactive wastes. 

Regulatory Definition of Hazardous, Radioactive, and Mixed Waste. Existing federal regulations give specific regulatory definitions for all waste types. Wastes that are of most Interest to environmental restoration and waste management are hazardous waste, radioactive waste, and mixed waste. 

Considering the general conditions for recovery plants, a conclusion may be reached—it would be desirable to store all metal waste under controlled conditions and with no mixing or dilution. Future development will definitely result in new and more economic recovery procedures. As metal-containing wastes differ widely in nature and complexity, selective separation techniques such as solvent extraction will be of increasing importance. 

However, in order to expand the recovery and recycling of plastics and decrease the amount of waste disposed in landfills, it will be necessary to overcome these difficulties. Because of its heterogeneous nature and the amount of contaminants present, separation of post-consumer mixed plastic waste is the most difficult. Waste plastics from industrial operations are cleaner and more homogeneous in resin type and scrap form than postconsumer plastics. The term "mixed plastics" has been used to describe broad scale processing of post-consumer plastic waste, although no formal definition yet exists. In its broadest sense, mixed plastics means a collection of a mixture of plastic resins or a mixture... 

Listed Wastes Codes Each listed hazardous waste has one or more codes and Table 27-2 lists the hazard codes. Many hazardous wastes meet the definition of more than one waste type. If a hazardous waste becomes mixed with a solid waste, usually the resulting mixture is a hazardous waste. This prevents dilution as a way to seek exception from regulation. 

The European Waste Directive defines waste as any substance or object the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard. The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC) defines domestic wastewater as wastewater from residential settlements and services which originates predominantly from the human metabolism and from household activities. Additionally definitions are given for urban wastewater, which additionally may be mixed with industrial wastewater and/or runoff rainwater as well as for industrial wastewater. 

Quantities of hazardous wastes produced each year are not known with certainty and depend on the definitions used for such materials. In the United States, there are around 17,000 RCRA-regulated sites that generate approximately 30 million tons of wastes. However, most of this material is water, with only a few million tons consisting of solids. Some high-water-content wastes are generated directly by processes that require large quantities of water in waste treatment, and other aqueous wastes are produced by mixing hazardous wastes with wastewater. 

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