Household Hazardous Waste
Encyclopedia
Household hazardous waste (HHW), sometimes called retail hazardous waste, is post-consumer waste
which qualifies as hazardous waste
when discarded. It includes household chemicals and other substances for which the owner no longer has a use, such as consumer products sold for home care
, personal care
, automotive
care, pest control
and other purposes. These products exhibit many of the same dangerous characteristics as fully regulated hazardous waste
due to their potential for reactivity, ignitability, corrosivity
, toxicity
, or persistence
. Examples include drain cleaner
s, oil paint
, motor oil
, antifreeze
, fuel
, poison
s, pesticide
s, herbicide
s and rodenticides, fluorescent lamp
s, lamp ballasts, smoke detector
s, medical waste, some types of cleaning chemicals, and consumer electronics
(such as televisions, computer
s, and cell phone
s).
Certain items such as batteries and fluorescent lamps can be returned to retail stores for disposal. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
(RBRC) maintains a list of battery recycling locations and your local environmental organization should have list of fluorescent lamp recycling locations.
. Many states and local solid waste management departments have created and funded Household Hazardous Waste facilities as well as one day collection events to offer safe disposal options for homeowners.
Although U.S. state
and federal
regulations continue to permit homeowner disposal of some household hazardous waste into the solid waste stream, state agencies are becoming more stringent in enforcing existing hazardous waste regulations at the retail level.
, and in other US states, responsibility for proper disposal of retail hazardous waste falls upon the generator. It cannot be disposed of through the typical solid waste stream, but must be transported in accordance with DOT
and EPA
(RCRA
) regulations to a properly-permitted TSDRF (Treatment Storage Disposal and/or Recycling Facility). California
has introduced an Electronic Waste Recycling Act
.
are being introduced in the countries of the European Union
.
Post-consumer waste
Post-consumer waste is a waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste-producing use did not involve the production of another product....
which qualifies as hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
when discarded. It includes household chemicals and other substances for which the owner no longer has a use, such as consumer products sold for home care
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a home. It is one of the many chores included in the term housework. Housecleaning includes activities such as disposing of rubbish, cleaning dirty surfaces, dusting and vacuuming. It may also involve some outdoor chores, such as...
, personal care
Personal care
Personal care or toiletries is the industry which manufactures consumer products used for beautification and in personal hygiene.-Subsectors:Subsectors of personal care include cosmetics and feminine hygiene....
, automotive
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
care, pest control
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
and other purposes. These products exhibit many of the same dangerous characteristics as fully regulated hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
due to their potential for reactivity, ignitability, corrosivity
Corrosive
A corrosive substance is one that will destroy or irreversibly damage another surface or substance with which it comes into contact. The main hazards to people include damage to the eyes, the skin, and the tissue under the skin; inhalation or ingestion of a corrosive substance can damage the...
, toxicity
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
, or persistence
Persistent organic pollutant
thumb|right|275px|State parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsPersistent organic pollutants are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes...
. Examples include drain cleaner
Drain cleaner
A drain cleaner is a consumer product or device that unblocks sewer pipes or helps to prevent the occurrence of clogged drains; the term may also refer to the individual who performs the activity...
s, oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
, motor oil
Motor oil
Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...
, antifreeze
Antifreeze
Antifreeze is a freeze preventive used in internal combustion engines and other heat transfer applications, such as HVAC chillers and solar water heaters....
, fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
, poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s, pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s, herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
s and rodenticides, fluorescent lamp
Fluorescent lamp
A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. A fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful...
s, lamp ballasts, smoke detector
Smoke detector
A smoke detector is a device that detects smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Commercial, industrial, and mass residential devices issue a signal to a fire alarm system, while household detectors, known as smoke alarms, generally issue a local audible and/or visual alarm from the detector...
s, medical waste, some types of cleaning chemicals, and consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
(such as televisions, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, and cell phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s).
Certain items such as batteries and fluorescent lamps can be returned to retail stores for disposal. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
Call2Recycle
Call2Recycle® is the only free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program in North America. Since 1996, Call2Recycle has diverted over 60 million pounds of rechargeable batteries from the solid waste stream and through a network of 30,000 public and 30,000 private collection sites...
(RBRC) maintains a list of battery recycling locations and your local environmental organization should have list of fluorescent lamp recycling locations.
HHW in the United States
HHW is not regulated by the EPAUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
. Many states and local solid waste management departments have created and funded Household Hazardous Waste facilities as well as one day collection events to offer safe disposal options for homeowners.
Although U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
regulations continue to permit homeowner disposal of some household hazardous waste into the solid waste stream, state agencies are becoming more stringent in enforcing existing hazardous waste regulations at the retail level.
State Regulation
In FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and in other US states, responsibility for proper disposal of retail hazardous waste falls upon the generator. It cannot be disposed of through the typical solid waste stream, but must be transported in accordance with DOT
Department of Transportation
The Department of Transportation is the most common name for a government agency in North America devoted to transportation. The largest is the United States Department of Transportation, which oversees interstate travel. All U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and many local agencies also have...
and EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.-History and Goals:...
) regulations to a properly-permitted TSDRF (Treatment Storage Disposal and/or Recycling Facility). California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
has introduced an Electronic Waste Recycling Act
Electronic Waste Recycling Act
The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 is a California law to reduce the use of certain hazardous substances in certain electronic products sold in the state...
.
European Union
Similar regulations, such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment DirectiveWaste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is the European Community directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment which, together with the RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, became European Law in February 2003, setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for all...
are being introduced in the countries of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.