Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a revision to its previous rule concerning the recycling of hazardous waste materials.
- The EPA changed the Definition of Solid Waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which overturns or alters some hazardous waste recycling exclusions that were formerly included.
- The agency swapped out the transfer-based exclusion with a verified recycler exclusion, requiring that all recyclers operating under the provision have RCRA permits or secure variances before reclaiming hazardous waste materials.
Dive Insight:
The new provision will begin on July 13. Part of the new rule also dictates that all hazardous waste recyclers must must meet certain criteria: the recycling process must produce a valuable product, and the materials used need to provide a useful contribution the product.