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Kinds of Toxic Waste

Toxic waste is an unfortunate byproduct of many of our favorite goods. Although industrial production contributes a lot of hazardous waste to the environment, consumers also play a large role in the release of toxic waste. Part of the problem with toxic waste is identifying what constitutes it. There are thousands of different wastes with many types of toxic characteristics.

  1. Identification

    • Toxic waste, also known as hazardous waste and hazardous material (haz-mat), is any waste--gases and liquids included--that can either cause death, serious illness or damage to the environment. Because the definition of toxic may not always seem obvious, Congress tasks the Environmental Protection Agency with distinguishing what specifically constitutes toxic waste.

    Regulation

    • Wastes are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to the EPA handbook on toxic waste. Despite containing toxic and dangerous elements, most waste does not end up being monitored and controlled under the RCRA. Hazardous waste from consumers, such as pesticides, are not regulated due to the impracticality of making sure every person disposes of waste properly.

    Types

    • Although the EPA has a detailed listing of what is considered a waste, hazardous waste generally has one or more of these four characteristics: flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity and/or toxicity. Flammable means the material can ignite and start fires; an example is waste oil. Corrosive wastes like battery acid have a pH below 2 or above 12.5, and can eat through metal containers. A reactive waste such as glycerin may explode or vaporize, even in a "normal" environment. Toxic waste is anything that can leach elements harmful to life, like mercury and lead.

    Effects

    • Toxic waste can have a negative impact on environmental and public health, reports Michigan State's Digital Center for Microbial Ecology. Hazardous waste can leak out of landfills and barrels to contaminate the environment. Once in the environment, toxic waste can travel and make its way into food grown on agricultural land. Estimates put the cleanup of all 36,000 hazardous waste sites in the United States at $100 billion to $500 billion.

    Prevention/Solution

    • You can control toxic waste buildup by taking a few simple preventative measures, according to Michigan State University. Buy reusable goods instead of one-time use items such as plastic silverware. Many common insects can act as alternative pest control; ladybugs are the natural predator of parasites such as aphids. Encourage business to eliminate harmful chemicals in their products; this has already been done with chlorofluorocarbons in hair spray.

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