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Government Classification of Hazardous Waste

A wide range of human activities generates hazardous waste, from manufacturing to nuclear power generation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies this waste into four main categories: Listed, Characteristic, Universal and Mixed. Each category includes an array of substances that pose a risk to human and environmental health.

  1. Listed Wastes

    • The EPA maintains four separate lists under the Listed Wastes classification. The F-list catalogs what the agency calls "non-specific source wastes," which arise from manufacturing processes in widespread use. The K-list includes "source-specific wastes" from certain industries, such as oil refining or steel production. The Federal Register, Title 40, s. 263.33 defines P- and U-list substances as "discarded commercial chemical products, off-specification species, container residues, and spill residues thereof."

    Characteristic Wastes

    • These substances do not appear on the EPA's lists but they do have physical properties that make them dangerous. Wastes in this category exhibit at least one of the following characteristics: ignitability (combustibility), corrosivity, reactivity (chemical instability) or toxicity.

    Universal Wastes

    • The universal wastes category includes things that contain mercury, such as batteries, pesticides and light bulbs. Because this classification focuses on consumer products, the EPA uses related regulations to encourage collection and proper disposal or recycling. In the future, the EPA may regulate the collection and disposal of hazardous pharmaceutical waste to keep such substances out of landfills and water.

    Mixed Wastes

    • One feature distinguishes substances in the mixed wastes classification from those in the other three categories: radioactivity. Several U.S. agencies have a role in controlling mixed waste, including the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The most dangerous mixed wastes come from nuclear power plants; the Department of Energy has primary responsibility for regulating these wastes.

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