On November 28, the Department of Toxic Substances Control released its Final Hazardous Waste Management Report. The report is the first step in a deeper, systemic evaluation of how the state handles and regulates hazardous waste. It takes a close look at how and where the state manages hazardous waste, where generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities are located, and what is considered hazardous in California compared to the rest of the country. The report also contains an Appendix with detailed profiles about the number of generators, locations, and types of hazardous waste generated on a county-by-county basis.
The report notes that the number of generators has significantly increased while the quantity of wastes generated has declined. Still the lack of in-state facilities for treatment and disposal is concerning. Contaminated soil, used oil, and inorganic debris make up 65% of hazardous waste. Surprisingly, 81 percent of hazardous waste generated in California isn’t considered “hazardous” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and isn’t regulated as hazardous by many other states.
RCRC provided detailed comments on DTSC’s Draft Hazardous Waste Management Report, arguing that the state needs to: ensure it has adequate capacity to manage hazardous waste; increase the convenience and availability of disposal opportunities; find ways to facilitate the in-state treatment, processing, and disposal of hazardous waste; and take a closer look at what it considers to be hazardous waste in the first place. Recognizing the critical role local governments play in operating local household hazardous waste collection facilities and the fact that it sometimes costs local governments more to dispose of household hazardous waste than it costs consumers to buy the product in the marketplace, RCRC urged DTSC to find a way for manufacturers to take a larger role in the end-of-life management of goods they introduce into the stream of commerce.
For more information, contact John Kennedy, RCRC Senior Policy Advocate.