530SW86041A
United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-86-041A
Agency (OS-305) October 1986
EPA Report to Congress:
Minimization of
Hazardous Waste
Executive Summary
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Report to Congress on Minimization of Hazardous Waste
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Report to Congress is submitted in response to the requirements of Section
8002(r) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, and the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments
(HS WA) of 1984.! Under this section, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is required to submit a Report to Congress by October 1, 1986,
recommending any legislative changes that are feasible and desirable to implement
HSWA's policy with respect to the minimization of hazardous waste:
The Congress hereby declares it to be the national policy of the United
States that, wherever feasible, the generation of hazardous waste is to be
reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible. Waste that is
nevertheless generated should be treated, stored or disposed of so as to
minimize the present and future threat to human health and the environment.
Section 8002(r) requires the Administrator to evaluate specifically the feasibility and
desirability of:
1. Establishing standards of performance or of taking other additional
actions under RCRA to require generators of hazardous waste to
reduce the volume or quantity and toxicity of the hazardous waste
they generate; and
Reflecting common usage, the amended Solid Waste Disposal Act will hereafter be generally
referred to as RCRA. Additions to RCRA made by the 1984 amendments will be referred to in the
text as HSWA.
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2. Establishing, with respect to hazardous waste, required management
practices or other requirements to ensure such wastes are managed
in ways that minimize present and future risks to human health and
the environment
Definition of Terms
The following definitions, based in part on the interpretations presented below, are
crucial to the recommendations made in this report (see also Figure 1):
Source reduction refers to the reduction or elimination of waste generation at
the source, usually within a process. Source reduction measures can
include some types of treatment processes, but they also include process
modifications, feedstock substitutions or improvements in feedstock purity,
various housekeeping and management practices, increases in the efficiency
of machinery, and even recycling within a process. Source reduction
implies any action that reduces the amount of waste exiting from a process.
Recycling refers to the use or reuse of a waste as an effective substitute for a
commercial product, or as an ingredient or feedstock in an industrial
process. It also refers to the reclamation of useful constituent fractions
within a waste material or removal of contaminants from a waste to allow it
to be reused. As used in this report, recycling implies use, reuse, or
reclamation of a waste either onsite or offsite after it is generated by a
particular process.
Waste minimization means the reduction, to the extent'feasible, of
hazardous waste that is generated or subsequently treated, stored, or
disposed of. It includes any source reduction or recycling activity
undertaken by a generator that results in either (1) the reduction of total
volume or quantity of hazardous waste, or (2) the reduction of toxicity of
hazardous waste, or both, so long as the reduction is consistent with the
goal of minimizing present and future threats to human health and the
environment
In the broadest sense, the HSWA defines waste minimization as any action taken to
reduce the volume or toxicity of wastes. That definition includes the concept of waste
treatment, which encompasses such technologies as incineration, chemical detoxification,
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FIGURE 1
WASTE MINIMIZATION TECHNIQUES
RECYCLING
ONSITE/OFFSITE
SOURCE REDUCTION
USE / REUSE
'Processed to recover
usable product
'Regeneration
•Ingredient in a process
•Effective substitute
SOURCE CONTROL
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
PRACTICES
'Waste stream segregation
'Inventory control
•Employee training
'Spill/leak prevention
'Scheduling improvement
INPUT MATERIAL
MODIFICATION
'Input purification
'Input substitution
PRODUCT
SUBSTITUTION
QH3I
TECHNOLOGY
MODIFICATION
'Improved Controls
'Process Modifications
'Equipment Changes
'Energy Conservation
'Water Conservation
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Executive Summary
biological treatments, and others.2 The Agency has already embarked on a broad program
for waste treatment; thus, this report focuses on source reduction and recycling, the two
aspects of waste minimization where basic options still remain open.
Section 1003 of HSWA establishes the general national policy in favor of waste
minimization and refers to the need to reduce the "volume or quantity and toxicity" of
hazardous wastes. EPA does not interpret this language to indicate that Congress rejected
volume reduction alone (with no change in the toxicity of hazardous constituents) as being
a legitimate form of waste minimization. A generator that reduces the volume of its
hazardous waste, even if the composition of its waste does not change, is accomplishing
beneficial waste minimization. EPA believes that waste concentration may occasionally be
a useful waste minimization technique (e.g., in preparing materials for recycling). The key
concept, however, is that waste minimization must be protective of human health and the
environment.
Because both volume and toxicity of wastes present dangers to human health and
the environment, measuring the effectiveness of waste minimization will be complex.
First, waste mu.imization measures are likely to be process and industry specific, implying
that different measurement techniques might be needed in different contexts; second, any
mandatory requirements for reducing the volume or toxicity of generated waste should
directly relate to expected reductions in risk to human health and the environment EPA has
already developed data and methodologies that can be used to evaluate the risks of many
types of waste streams, as well as the risk reductions associated with waste management
practices.3 These evaluation techniques will continue to improve and become more
effective as a tool in regulatory decision making. EPA therefore intends to use such
assessments as a means of measuring progress in. waste minimization and to help establish
Section 1003(aX6) of HSWA states that the objectives of "promotting] the protection of health and
the environment and conserving] valuable material and energy resources" can be done by
"minimizing the generation of hazardous waste and the land disposal of hazardous waste by
encouraging process substitutions, materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and
treatment" [italics added].
These include, for example, the Liner Location Model and the RCRA Risk/Cost Analysis Model
(usually referred to as the Waste-Environment-Technology or W-E-T model).
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priorities among or within possible waste minimization regulatory schemes. This approach
is consistent with the general principle that any waste minimization regulations should seek
to reduce significant remaining risks.
Why Minimize Waste?
The RCRA program over the past ten years has focused primarily on correcting the
effects of years of poor management of hazardous wastes by bringing treatment, storage,
and disposal facilities into compliance with national standards that are protective of human
health and the environment. HSWA has continued this policy, but has also shifted the
emphasis of the program away from reforming land disposal practices to a reliance on
waste treatment. Because of its potential for contamination of other environmental media
(e.g., ground water), land disposal—even under strict control—is recognized as the least
desirable method of managing hazardous wastes.
The move toward treatment is a major step forward, but is not a complete answer.
Reforms in land disposal practices and installation of new hazardous waste treatment
capacity are elective responses to managing this country's hazardous waste, but the> do
not address the generation of these wastes. Both Congress and EPA believe that
preventing the generation of a waste, when feasible, is inherently preferable to controlling it
after it is generated. Waste minimization can be viewed as a means of reducing the
introduction of hazardous constituents into all environmental media.
Current environmental control programs are designed to protect human health and
the environment. However, control technologies are never 100 percent efficient, and
compliance with regulations under any environmental program can never be perfect, even
with the most stringent enforcement program. Waste minimization can also address the
risks of breakdowns in waste management systems.
In addition to achieving human health and environmental benefits by reducing the
volume and/or toxicity of hazardous wastes, waste minimization can also relieve shortages
of treatment, storage, and disposal capacity. The capacity to accept wastes diverted from
land disposal will be especially limited over the next few years while new facilities are
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under construction and treatment alternatives are being developed. This process may be
slow, since public opposition makes new hazardous waste facilities extremely difficult to
site. Furthermore, land disposal will continue to be required into the foreseeable future,
even if wastes disposed of in or on the land are detoxified first; hence, capacity needs will
always be a concern. Finally, all forms of waste management—treatment or land
disposal—must allow for industrial growth and thus the need for additional capacity. By
reducing per unit product generation rates, waste minimization can provide at least a partial
answer to these problems.
Incentives and Disincentives for Waste Minimization
Strong incentives already exist to promote waste minimization in the private sector,
including (1) dramatic increases in the price of all forms of hazardous waste management,
partially caused by Federal and State standards, (2) difficulties in siting hazardous waste
management capacity, (3) permitting burdens and corrective action requirements,
(4) financial liability of hazardous waste generators, (5) sharp increases in the cost of
commercial liability insurance, coupled with a steep dropoff in its availability, and (6)
public pressure on industry to reduce the production of waste. There are also
countervailing disincentives. Figure 2 covers the incentives and disincentives that surround
the various waste minimization techniques.
Incentives for Waste Minimization
Increases in the costs of hazardous waste management: EPA and State regulations
have been the primary cause of increased costs in treatment, storage, and disposal of
hazardous wastes, especially in relation to landfills, surface impoundments, and storage
and accumulation tanks. The current series of land disposal restrictions under HSWA will
limit the number of untreated wastes that can be disposed of on land and thus are likely to
increase the cost of disposal. HSWA also imposes more stringent standards on surface
impoundments, which will mean that about half of those now in operation will close. In
addition, the recently promulgated hazardous waste tank rules4 will
51 FR 25421, July 14, 1986
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INCENTIVES
Increased Cost of Waste Management
Difficulties in siting new HW management
facilities
Permitting Burdens and
Corrective Action Requirements
Financial Liability
of HW Generators
Shortages of Liability Insurance
Public Perception
•
•
e
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
DISINCENTIVES
Economic Barriers
-Lack of Capital
-Financial Liability
Technical Barriers
-Attitude* toward unfamilar methods
-Bateh Processes
-Lack of information
-Technical Limits of Process
-Technical Quality Concerns
Regulatory Barriers
-Need to Obtain TSO Permit
-Perceived Stigma of Man'g Hat Waste
-Revisions to Other Env. Permits
e
e
e
•
•
e
e
e
e
e
•
•
e
•
e
•
e
•
•
e
FIGURE 2 INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES FOR VARIOUS
WASTE MINIMIZATION TECHNIQUES.
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also increase waste management costs. Because of these three factors, generators must
find alternative means for treating, storing, or disposing of their wastes.
Prices for such alternative waste treatment are expected to rise as generators
compete for scarce treatment capacity (such as incineration or chemical detoxification).
EPA has, in fact, already identified shortages of treatment and disposal capacity for solvent
and dioxin wastes in its proposed regulations.5
Overall, the increased costs of waste management provide a strong incentive for
owners and operators to reduce the quantity of waste generated or disposed of through the
use of source reduction and offsite and onsite recycling techniques.
Difficulties in siting hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal capacity: The
land disposal restrictions program, as mandated by HSWA, is creating a strong demand for
substantial new waste treatment, storage, and disposal capacity. Hazardous waste
managers are therefore seeking new sites and planning to expand existing ones, but in the
process they are encountering the familiar problem of "not in my community." While thsre
are some instances where States have been successful in helping to site new hazardous
waste management facilities, local resistance tends to be extremely hard to overcome. This
intense public opposition to the siting of many types of hazardous waste facilities may
cause shortages to persist even when market demand is strong. Generators' only
alternative in many cases may therefore be a reliance on source reduction and onsite
recycling to reduce the amount of waste they would otherwise send to offsite management
facilities.
Permitting burdens and corrective action requirements: Even though the demand
• for new treatment and disposal capacity will be high, permitting procedures will tend to
delay the availability of that new capacity, temporarily driving up the costs of all forms of
treatment and disposal. No new hazardous waste management facility may be constructed
until it has acquired a RCRA permit—a costly process that usually takes several years to
complete. In addition, all permits issued after November 8, 1984, include provisions
requiring owners and operators to take corrective action for releases of hazardous waste,
51FR 1729, January 14, 1986
via •
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regardless of when it was placed in the unit, both within and beyond property boundaries
as necessary to protect human health and the environment This potentially very expensive
requirement applies to all facilities seeking a new RCRA permit, including both existing
and new facilities. Additionally, even though the demand for new treatment and disposal
capacity will be high, permitting procedures will tend to delay the availability of that new
capacity, temporarily driving up the costs of all forms of treatment and disposal.
Thus, the increased costs of permitting burdens and corrective action provide still
another strong incentive for owners and operators to reduce the quantity of waste generated
or disposed of through the use of source reduction and offsite and onsite recycling
techniques.
Financial liability of hazardous waste generators: Generators using offsite
treatment, storage, or disposal face financial liability for two reasons: (1) there is a
potential for mismanagement of wastes by facility operators, and (2) there is the possibility
of improper design of the disposal facility itself. Even careful evaluation of facility
management cannot reduce these risks to zero. A generator risks incurring liability when
the treatment, storage, or disposal facility (TSDF) owner or operator cannot or will not pay
for remedial or corrective actions made necessary by migration of wastes. In t^ese
situations, generators can be held liable under common law for absolute, strict, joint and
several liability. In addition, the imminent and substantial endangerment provisions in
Sections 106 and 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), state a generator or generators can be held financially responsible
for the entire cleanup or restoration of a facility. When less waste is generated, it reduces
potential liability for future disposal and thus is an incentive for both source reduction and
onsite recycling.
Shortages of liability insurance: The traditional means for obtaining coverage for
potential hazardous waste management liabilities is through insurance, but, for many
generators and owners or operators of TSDFs, liability insurance is no longer available, or
is available only at extremely high cost. This is particularly true of Environmental
Impairment Liability (EIL) insurance, which until 1985 was an often-used financial
instrument for generators and owners and operators of TSDFs to protect themselves from
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third-party and government claims for damages resulting from environmental releases of
hazardous substances. In recent years, premiums have increased 50 to 300 percent,
policies have been cancelled even where loss ratios have been excellent, and many
companies have difficulty obtaining coverage at any price. In order to insure themselves
against liability, TSDFs who must comply with Sections 3004 and 3005 (e) of RCRA6
have resorted to creative methods to obtain coverage.7 Until fundamental changes occur in
the insurance marketplace, many generators and TSDFs will continue to have difficulty
meeting liability requirements.
Increases in insurance costs or an inability to obtain insurance will result in higher
treatment and disposal costs or the loss of available treatment or disposal capacity. This
will provide a strong incentive to reduce the quantity of waste to be disposed of through the
application of source reduction and onsite recycling techniques.
Public perception of company responsibilities: While the strongest incentives for
implementing waste minimization techniques are probably economic, many companies are
establishing waste minimization programs out of sensitivity to public concern over toxic
chemicals. This type of corporate good citizenship is felt to produce good relations
between industry and the public. Available information indicates that the larger companies
are most likely to perceive public relations benefits in waste minimization; however, some
medium and small size companies are acting under the same motives.
Disincentives for Waste Minimization
Economic barriers: Even though waste minimization practices often lead to cost
savings, availability of capital for plant modernization is often a significant obstacle to their
implementation. Although major companies may have sufficient access to upgrade
inefficient processes, small and medium sized companies often do not. Firms that have
recently modernized their facilities have reduced incentive to reinvest in alternative
6 Generators do not have to obtain liability insurance under RCRA.
7 New instruments they have developed include: (1) formation of associations—captive stock or
mutual insurance companies, (2) licensed carrier fronting programs for trust funds in which banks
hold funds to cover liability, (3) letters of credit, (4) self insurance, and (5) corporate guarantees.
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processes. Obstacles to plant modernization adversely affect the implementation of source
reduction and onsite recycling when these involve process modifications.
Financial liability can, in at least one circumstance, also be a significant disincentive
for waste minimization because generators who send waste offsite may be liable under
CERCLA and common law for damages caused by their wastes, even if the wastes have
left the plant and are no longer under the firm's control. They may therefore not use
available offsite recycling.
Technical barriers: Some firms may be reluctant to make any modifications to their
production processes for fear of risking the technical quality of their final product. While
these fears may not be well-founded, they can be a significant impediment to innovation.
There may also be, however, significant practical limits to waste minimization,
especially with respect to source reduction, even where firms are actively seeking to
minimize waste. Certain products simply cannot be manufactured without producing
hazardous wastes; excessive waste minimization requirements would, in such cases,
remove products from the market or put companies out of business entirely. A hazardous
waste analog to the zero discharge policy, calling for across-the-board cuts of fixed
percentages of waste generated, is therefore not realistic because, in some situations,
possible source reductions may turn out to be minor and achievable only at great expense.
Another technical consideration affecting waste minimization is that industries
producing high volume or high toxicity wastes often operate largely through batch
processes. This can present problems for certain onsite recycling techniques (e.g., while
light colored off-specification batches of paint can be blended into subsequent darker
colored batches, the opposite is not always true).
Similarly, offsite recycling is often technically limited by process realities and
administrative logistics. Off-specification chemicals (such as pesticides or Pharmaceuticals)
are examples of products with little onsite or offsite recycling potential. Even where wastes
are technically recyclable, it may be difficult to accumulate enough waste to make the
activity economically attractive. With respect to offsite recycling, it may be hard to
establish permanent and stable relationships, either onsite among various production lines
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Executive Summary
or offsite among firms; generator and user processes have to be synchronized, purity may
vary over time, volumes of wastes available may not meet minimum reuse needs
transportation costs have to be acceptable, and price variations in feedstocks and in product
prices inevitably play a crucial role.
Finally, the most significant technical barrier to waste minimization may often be a
lack of suitable engineering information on source reduction and recycling techniques.
Available information suggests that this is most often the case with small and medium sized
companies.
Regulatory barriers: Some of the provisions of current environmental statutes
including RCRA, tend to discourage waste minimization. Some examples include the
following:
I??6 red"ction sometimes requires the installation of new
machinery that can, under RCRA, be considered "treatment " This
'30 °btaln a PCnnit « a ™™M> ^
Commercial recycling facilities that wish to increase their operations
might be reluctant to do so if the expansion were to require a
revision of their NPDES water pollution permit to authorize a
change in the composition of their discharges or allow for larger
The new definition of solid waste, promulgated by EPA to eliminate
loopholes in RCRA controls and inhibit unsafe (or "sham")
recycling, brings some additional wastes into the hazardous waste
system. This seems to be inhibiting some plants from sending these
wastes offsite for recycling, since many companies perceive that
manifested wastes present greater financial liability for offsite
activities out of their immediate control. In addition, out of anxiety
over potential financial liabilities, some companies not currently in
the hazardous waste system may be reluctant to undertake any waste
minimization program that would require them to accept manifested
hazardous waste (e.g., certain offsite recycling practices) or take
other measures that would bring them officially into the hazardous
waste management system.
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Executive Summary
Current Waste Minimization Requirements
At present, there are three formal statutory requirements relating to waste
minimization, all of them enacted as part of the 1984 amendments.
1. Section 3002(b) of HSWA requires generators to certify on their
waste manifests (mandated under Section 3002(a)) that they have in
place a program "to reduce the volume or quantity and toxicity of
such waste to the degree determined by the generator to be
economically practicable."
2. Section 3005(h) of HSWA requires the same certification in relation
to any new permit issued for treatment, storage, or disposal of
hazardous waste.
3. Section 3002(a)(6) of HSWA requires, as part of any generator's
biennial report to EPA, that the generator describe "the efforts
undertaken during the year to reduce the volume and toxicity of
waste generated" as well as "changes in volume and toxicity of
waste actually achieved during the year in question in comparison
with previous years, to the extent such information is available for
years prior -to enactment of [HSWA]
These requirements should increase the awareness of generators and facility owners
and operators of the importance of minimizing hazardous wastes, and might serve as the
basis for more specific and farther reaching requirements. However, the present
requirements are not restrictive; the generator determines whether any particular waste
minimization approach that might apply to his or her process is economically practicable.
Although the biennial reports should provide useful insight into what generators are
actually doing to reduce wastes, they are not likely to provide definitive information. The
reports due this year (1986) will be the first to include waste minimization requirements,
and the quality of information they contain is expected to vary widely. As yet, for
example, there is no formal definition of the meaning of the term "toxicity," or any
guidance on the way to measure waste volume. In addition, generators are not likely to
provide information that they consider confidential.
EPA is therefore conducting a study to determine how the waste minimization
statement on the biennial report can be modified to improve the quality of information being
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Executive Summary
reported. The Agency plans to provide uniform guidance directly to the States and to
generators on the content of these reports in time for their 1988 submission. Future
information provided in the report will then allow EPA to better identify trends in waste
minimization technologies applied by generating facilities.
Evaluation of Available Options for Waste Minimization
Congress specifically required the Agency to report on the desirability and
feasibility of establishing mandatory standards of performance for waste minimization or of
taking additional actions under RCRA to reduce the volume or quantity and toxicity of
hazardous waste and of establishing required management practices to achieve
minimization. It also requested any recommendations for legislative changes to implement
the national policy of waste minimization. This report details EPA's evaluation of the
following options to minimize hazardous wastes.
Standards of Performance
Mandatory standards of performance for minimizing wastes could take various
forms, but in all their variations they are markedly different in concept from the type of
performance standards typical of the air and water pollution control programs. In these
other programs, performance standards are end-of-pipe standards that allow flexibility to
modify processes or add control technologies. Performance standards for waste
minimization would depend substantially on internal modifications of industrial processes.
Such standards would mark a major departure from past practice and would require
statutory amendments. At present, mandatory performance standards are not authorized
under RCRA.
EPA has evaluated three variations of performance standards in this report:
1. Specific standards limiting the volume or toxicity of wastes,
2. Prohibition or restriction of specific waste streams, and
3. A phasedown permit system, wherein total waste generation levels
for one or more industries or waste streams are specified and then
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Executive Summary
reduced ("phased down") over time. Under this option, trades
among firms for generation rights would be encouraged.
EPA believes that all these options raise significant implementation concerns and
should be adopted only after careful evaluation of emerging trends and patterns of waste
generation. It is important that the option selected be the most effective method to minimize
hazardous waste for a particular industry. All performance standard options would be
costly and time consuming to design and would, therefore, be infeasible to implement in
the next four to six years. If it becomes clear after implementation of the land disposal
restrictions program that there are specific residual hazardous waste problems that are not
being resolved through response to these requirements, then additional prescriptive action
may be appropriate. EPA might find that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSGA),
especially Section (6)(a)(A), is a more appropriate method than RCRA regulations to
resolve residual hazardous waste problems.
A comprehensive command-and-control performance standard program of the
traditional type would cost on the order to $5 to $7 million per standard to design, -.nd
implement, and would require staff commitments at least as high as the effluent guidelines
program for water or the new source performance standards program for air. At rhe
present time, however, there are hundreds of discrete industrial processes to examine, and
it is difficult to project without further information how many may require standards.
Under the most realistic circumstances, it would take at least ten years after Congressional
authorization to design and fully implement such a program.
Prohibition or restriction of specific wastes would presumably be simpler in
regulatory structure and more selectively applied than performance standards, but would
still require extensive research into processes and waste management techniques.
Furthermore, responsible uscfof prohibition authority often requires substantial analysis of
the feasibility of less severe measures and, therefore, can also be costly to evaluate.
A phasedown permit system would be somewhat different in concept and operation
from a command-and-control performance standard approach. Because it would not set
specific engineering standards for each industry, the burden on EPA for developing the
program would be considerably less than for a conventional, standard-setting process.
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Incentives for trading among firms would be inherent in the system, since the number of
permits would be limited to less than the current level of waste generated. The eventual
value and distribution of permits would be set by the marketplace, with waste reductions
coming from those firms that could reduce most cost-effectively. These firms would be
able to sell any unused permits on the open market as "waste reduction credits." Moreover,
since EPA would phase down the amount of waste generation allowed, the permits would
increase in value over time, creating a continuous incentive to reduce waste further.
Phasedown permits would cost society far less than other performance standard
options for achieving a given level of waste reduction if there are sufficiently wide
variations in unit control costs among generators and if trades are actually made among
firms. They do, however, raise novel implementation problems. Two concerns are the
initial distribution of permits and the degree of trading to be allowed. However, these
issues may be resolvable, as demonstrated by EPA's recent program to phase down the
lead content of gasoline. A third concern is how to determine the rate of the phasedown
and the amount of hazardous waste allowed at the end of the phasedown period.
Under any of these options, EPA would consider exempting small quantity
generators from the requirements or would consider subjecting them to simplified and less
burdensome requirements. Because small quantity generators collectively account for only
a small fraction of the wastes generated annually,8 subjecting them to stringent and
expensive regulations may not be cost-effective or provide additional protection of human
health and the environment.
Management Practices
Management practices, as defined in this report, are procedures or institutional
policies within a service or manufacturing operation that result in a reduction in hazardous
waste generation. They are a step beyond the directives established by performance
Small quantity generators regulated under RCRA are those who generate between 100 and 1.000
kilograms of hazardous waste per month. According to the National Small Quantity Hazardous
Generator Survey, conducted for the Office of Solid Waste in 1985, small quantity generators.
including those who generate less than 100 kilograms per month, Collectively account for less ihun
one half of one percent of the total quantity of waste generated annually. •
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Executive Summary
standards and include requirements restricting particular disposal practices, requirements
for the handling of wastes as they are generated, and requirements for controlling the waste
generation system.
Three management practices are discussed below. The first would ban the
landfilling, treatment, or incineration of potentially recyclable wastes. The second would
require the segregation of wastes to enhance recycling potential. The third would require
mandatory waste audits.
Banning the landfilling, treatment, or incineration of potentially recyclable wastes
would likely be controversial and possibly inefficient. In addition, while it would be
possible to make sure that no proscribed waste is landfilled, treated, or incinerated, it
would be exceedingly difficult to ensure that all such waste is properly recycled instead,
thus making it difficult to enforce. Noncompliance (e.g., illegal dumping) would
potentially be substantial.
A second possibility would be a requirement for segregation of waste streams and
banning the mixing of waste streams that are potentially recyclable. This includes the
isolation of hazardous materials from nonhazardous materials or the isolation of liquid from
solid waste. The segregation of wastes does have the potential in selected instances to be
economically attractive, and could, in fact, save some firms significant sums of money by
reducing treatment and disposal costs, lowering expenses for the purchase of raw
materials, and/or generating a reclaimed product that can be marketed or sent to a was,te
exchange. Wa;te stream segregation might, therefore, become economically attractive
without additional regulation. It is conceivable that new prohibitions on land disposal and
dramatically increased costs for all forms of disposal, coupled with substantial efforts to
increase industry awareness of recycling possibilities, could provide adequate information
and incentive for segregation without making such action a regulatory requirement.
Waste audits can be an effective means to identify opportunities for waste
minimization, making audits mandatory, however, could undermine their effectiveness.
While the direct costs of waste audits for industry are not extremely high (on average
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Executive Summary
$10,000 to $20,000 per audit for an uncomplicated facility)?, requiring every waste
generator to conduct an audit could have some detrimental effects. If they were seen as a
Federal requirement rather than as a corporate initiative, plant personnel might tend to be
less than forthcoming and the results of such audits often might be discounted and
disregarded. A mandatory program might also require EPA to develop implementing
regulations to address who is qualified to conduct waste audits and how audits should be
conducted, and to monitor possible reporting requirements. Since it would be difficult to
require compliance with the recommendations of a waste audit, such efforts do not seem
justified.
It appears more desirable for EPA to promote voluntary waste audits on their own
merits as a useful waste management tool, such as through a technical assistance program
implemented through the States (see below). EPA and the States could develop programs
that would include State certification and listing of qualified waste minimization auditors,
targeted assistance programs for onsite audits, and development of model checklists and
protocols for conducting audits. In the context of a voluntary audit approach, such
programs should be less burdensome to develop and more flexible to implement than under
a mandatory regime; thus, it is suggested as an EPA initiative.
Legislative Amendments to HSWA
EPA currently interprets the certification requirement under HSWA Section 3002
(generator standards) and Section 3005 (permit standards) as prohibiting the development
of substantive requirements to generators on what constitutes appropriate waste
minimization. As the Senate Report on the certification process emphasizes, the intent of
the current requirement is merely to encourage generators to consider specifically the
desirability and feasibility of waste minimization; it does not require specific waste
minimization action.
The Agency believes that generators should continue to determine what their waste
minimization options are and, at this time, that EPA should not make process related
For smaller facilities, the costs could be substantially lower, perhaps under 55,000; however for
large, complex facilities, the costs could be substantially higher.
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decisions to force waste minimization. However, EPA is further considering an option to
amend the current legislation to allow EPA to define acceptable waste minimization
practices. This authority could allow EPA to specify general practices that could or could
not be certified as waste minimization (e.g., those practices that result in adverse cross-
media pollution transfers). EPA is continuing to evaluate this change to the waste
minimization certification statement, and will provide Congress a further assessment of the
need to modify these requirements. Among possible options to consider include:
• Prohibit, where appropriate, certification of certain types of waste
management practices as waste minimization.
• Specify what may be certified as waste minimization.
• Define necessary documentation for certifications that state that
waste minimization is not economically practicable.
As additional information becomes available, the Agency could use this discretionary
authority to focus on specific industries that continue to create potential risks to human
health and the environment.
While :;mall quantity generators might be subject to such additional reporting
responsibilities under this option, EPA could consider subjecting them to less rigorous and
burdensome requirements than those affecting large quantity generators.
Other Options
A number of other waste minimization options have been identified in the course of
preparing this report. A full list of available options is found in the technical support
document for this report, Waste Minimization Issues and Options. Several of the options
listed there are not discussed here for various reasons: either they have been considered
already under other authority (such as the provisions for a waste-end tax now under
consideration as part of the CERCLA reauthorization), or they have been found, on further
review, to be unworkable as part of RCRA (e.g., enforcement bounties). Appendix B to
this report lists options that have not been evaluated or presented here and explains the
reasons for their exclusion.
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Two basic options for waste minimization that the Agency believes should
definitely be considered as part of a short- or long-term waste minimization strategy are
(1) technical assistance for waste minimization, implemented in cooperation with the
States, and (2) modifications to Federal procurement practices to avoid discriminating
against recycled commodities and, where appropriate, to support development of markets
in recycled commodities.
An active, aggressive, and sustained program for technical assistance appears to be
the strongest option available to promote waste minimization, especially in the near term.
Carried out in cooperation with the States, such a program could be aimed primarily at
small10 and medium sized companies, which currently have the least access to information
on how to minimize their wastes. The program's purpose would be to encourage firms to
include waste minimization efforts in their hazardous waste management planning, to
provide access to technical information, and to encourage the development of markets for
recyclers and recycled materials. No new legislative authority would be required to launch
such a technical assistance effort, but adequate and sustained support by Congress would
be necessary over the next ten years if it were to achieve its potential.
RCRA already provides authorization for EPA to encourage revision of Federal
procurement practices to promote the use of recycled products. Section 6002 of RCRA
requires procuring agencies to amend Federal procurement practices to avoid unnecessary
discrimination against recycled products, and requires EPA to promulgate procurement
guidelines that actively promote the procurement of recycled products. This strategy may
help achieve substantial increases in the market share of recycled products, particularly
where the Federal government is a major consumer of a product. In such instances, a
Federal preference for a recycled product may make the product economically viable. EPA
should work with agencies that are in the best position to create such markets, including the
Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.
10 "Small" companies are not intended to include only Small Quantity Generators as defined under
RCRA A technical assistance program would also be useful for small quantity generators, but the
degree of emphasis on this group would have to be carefully reviewed. While small quantity
generators do need (and often request) technical assistance, the available data suggest, as noted
earlier, that they contribute only a very minor fraction (about one-half of one percent) of hazardous
waste volume nationally.
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Executive Summary
Recommendations
At this time, the Agency believes that generators should continue to determine
which waste minimization techniques are economically practicable and that EPA should not
specify requirements for waste minimization.
If, after implementation of the other pertinent provisions of the HSWA, the Agency
decides that standards of performance or required management practices are needed to
protect human health and the environment, it will then request the necessary additional
authority from Congress. EPA proposes to report to Congress on this issue in December
1990, the earliest date at which it believes a recommendation on the need for a mandatory
waste minimization program could be made.
EPA does plan to expand its waste minimization efforts as discussed below in the
context of EPA's proposed three-point waste minimization strategy.
The elements of this strategy are:
1. Information Gathering: Detailed data on industry's response to the
land disposal restrictions program and other existing waste
minimization incentives must be gathered in order to make a final
determination on the desirability and feasibility of performance
standards and required management practices.
2. A Core Waste Minimization Program: During the interval when the
new provisions of HSWA are taking effect, EPA will launch a
strong technical assistance and information transfer program through
'he States to promote voluntary waste minimization in industry,
government, and the non-profit sectors of the economy. It will also
work with Federal agencies to encourage procurement practices that
promote the use of recycled and reclaimed materials.
3. Longer Term Options: Based on an analysis of the new data
gathered under (1) above, performance standards and other
mandatory requirements can be imposed, if necessary, once the
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Executive Summary
HSWA amendments have taken full effect and their impacts on
waste generation have been assessed.
Information Gathering
Agency actions to encourage waste minimization, whether through voluntary means
or through future regulatory action, must be based on a full understanding of the present
state of hazardous waste generation and management and of how that system is evolving
under the many pressures to which it is now being subjected. The general patterns and
trends of hazardous waste management systems are becoming clearer, but past trends may
not persist through the next four to six years as HSWA's new provisions take effect, and
as industry seeks to control the potential financial liabilities associated with hazardous
waste management.
Baseline and trends data: The best data available to the Agency on the amount and
content of hazardous wastes were developed by surveys conducted in 1981 and 1983.
These data are rapidly becoming out of date and are known to be of uneven quality because
of reporting errors and the small and variable sample sizes from which information was
extrapolated They must be supplemented with new data documenting the changes that
have already begun and will continue to progress over the next few years.
In order to make a final determination on the desirability and feasibility of
mandatory waste minimization actions, the Agency must be able to document unresolved
environmental problems for which such a new regulatory program would be ihe
appropriate response. Examples might be waste streams for which treatment and disposal
capacity remains inadequate even after the land disposal restrictions have been in place for a
year or more, or a future EPA determination that a particular type of hazardous waste
treatment method does not, in practice, adequately protect human health and the
environment
The types of data needed include detailed baseline information on the volumes and
toxicity of wastes generated, trends data on source reduction and recycling, trends data on
treatment and disposal capacity, and analyses of the human health and environmental
impacts of treatment and disposal practices. EPA expects that existing statutory authority is
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Executive Summary
sufficient to gather this additional data. One potential source will the biennial reports,
which will be upgraded to improve the consistency and coverage of the information
submitted. Other sources may include a new generator survey or the 1986 TSD survey
currently being undertaken, information developed by EPA programs outside of the Office
of Solid Waste (such as under TSCA), and the reporting requirements that may be enacted
under amendments to CERCLA.
Data to support technical assistance and information transfer: Much of the same
data can be used to set priorities for technical assistance programs to promote source
reduction and recycling programs, targeting them where they will be most successful in
reducing threats to human health and the environment. However, in-house research and
cooperation with States and industry trade associations will provide more detailed
information on the cost and effectiveness of specific waste minimization techniques for the
targeted industries. This information gathering program will enable EPA to develop an
accurate profile of waste management trends and practices and selectively develop
performance standards or other requirements as needed.
A Core Waste Minimization Program
As tliii report has already emphasized, it is neither desirable nor practical to
research, promulgate, and enforce a major regulatory program mandating specific waste
minimization standards over the next four to six years. During this time, industry will he
making technical and financial commitments to respond to the changing requirements and
incentives of the hazardous waste management system. Once made, these commitments
will be difficult to change. It is therefore both practical and highly desirable to conduct
outreach programs to support and enhance the use of waste minimization as part of an
overall waste management strategy and to reduce threats to human health and the
environment It should be noted that, in the event that mandatory controls are needed in the
near term to control volume or toxicity of wastes generated by particular industries, EPA
would use the authority that currently exists under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances
Control ACL
Elements of this initial waste minimization program will include:
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Executive Summary
• Development and publication of an Agency policy statement on
waste minimization including non-binding guidance to generators
defining what constitutes waste minimization under the reporting
and certification requirements of HSWA. To the extent possible,
this guidance will be specific to particular industrial sectors and
processes.
• Expansion of EPA's role in providing for technical and information
assistance to generators, including small generators. Because the
States have more direct contact with the generators and hence have
more awareness of generators' needs and problems, EPA's primary
role should be to support and encourage the States in the
development of their programs. An appropriate EPA-sponsored
technical assistance effort includes the following elements:
— Assistance for States to initiate and develop programs for
providing direct assistance to generators, especially small and
medium sized generators.
— Technical support of research and development and economic
feasibility studies that might serve an entire region or have
regional application.
— Development of a computerized information system on waste
minimization, accessible by the States.
• Encouraging voluntary waste minimization concepts within the
review of new chemicals mandated under TSCA Section 5. EPA
anticipates the preparation of a New Chemicals Information Bulletin
advising submitters that waste minimization will be considered
during the review of the relative risk* of the new chemical
substances and their existing substitutes.
The Agency should also establish a formal process of coordination with the States
to ensure a continuing and responsive technical assistance and outreach effort over the
longer term.
In addition, EPA will continue to examine specific elements of the "core" waste
minimization program and make recommendations for legislative changes to the existing
waste minimization requirements, if needed, as part of the next RCRA reauthorization.
Among the possible options to consider would be modifications to the existing certification
for generators and TSDFs, including:
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Executive Summary
Prohibiting, where appropriate, certification of certain types of
waste management practices as waste minimization.
Providing, where appropriate, formal guidance as to what may be
certified as waste minimization. Such guidance could apply
generally or to specific industrial sectors. (Flexibility for appeals
and exceptions must also be provided.)
• Requiring generators who have not undertaken any of the approved
waste minimization activities, but who certify that there is no
economically practicable alternative to their present waste reduction
and management practices, to provide a written explanation of such
certification.
Longer Term Options
Only after the land disposal restrictions and other principal provisions of the HSWA
go into effect, and after EPA has developed the needed additional data on hazardous waste
generation and management, will it be possible to determine whether standards of
performance (including phasedown permits) or required management practices (?uch as
waste audits) are necessary to achieve additional reductions in the volume or tov.-iry of
wastes. The Azzncy therefore recommends that consideration of new mandatory programs
be deferud unul after such data can be gathered and analyzed, and proposes to report hack
to Congress c;, ihe desirability and feasibility of prescriptive approaches two years after the
first of the land disposal restrictions has been fully implemented. Excluding the possibility
of case-by-case extensions, the first of the land disposal restrictions will be fully
implemented in November of 1988; EPA will, therefore, make its next formal report or tins
subject in Decnr.ber of 1990.
Conclusion
EPA still has much to learn about waste minimization and recognizes that the
cooperation of private and public waste generators will be invaluable as it moves toward the
development of sound long term policy. It also believes, however, that the incentives and
trends within the hazardous waste management system are unmistakable, and that the
program presented here comprises the most positive and constructive steps that can be
taken at this time. Aggressive action in favor of waste minimization is clearly needed, but a
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Executive Summary
major new regulatory program-at least for the present-does not seem desirable or
feasible.
Incentives for waste minimization are already strong, so EPA must capitalize on
them. Most lacking is access by generators to the information that will demonstrate the
economic benefits of waste minimization to industry, overcome logistical problems, and
help develop creative new approaches. This can be provided by a strong technical
assistance and information transfer effort, which can achieve through voluntary means
what would be inefficient and possibly counterproductive to attempt through regulation
Unfortunately, non-regulatory programs have often failed at EPA for lack of statutory or
regulatory deadlines and institutional advocacy. For such a program to work, it must be
given strong organizational support within the Agency.
EPA is willing to make this commitment, and seeks support from Congress to
ifrC CM/V*AOe
ensure its success.
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