Question 1: Is the material a waste?

The first question we need to ask ourselves about the suspect material is whether the material is a waste, as it has been defined in statutes and regulations. A “waste” is a material that has been used or has otherwise served its intended purpose and, for whatever reason, can or will no longer be used. In the Title 22 CCR, a waste is defined as any discarded material (in any form, such as solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gas) that is not excluded by Section 66261.4(a), 66261.4(e), or 25143.2(b) or 25143.2(d).

A material is considered to be discarded if it is:

Relinquished (disposed of; burned or incinerated; accumulated, stored or treated [but not recycled] before, or instead of, being disposed of, burned or incinerated) Recycled (accumulated, stored or treated before recycling by being used in a manner constituting disposal [placed on land], burned for energy recovery, reclaimed, or accumulated for speculative purposes) Inherently waste-like when it is recycled (such as RCRA waste codes F020, F021, F023, F026 and F028 [contains dioxins], or a secondary material fed to a halogen acid furnace)

Materials are also wastes if they are mislabeled or inadequately labeled, unless the label is corrected within 10 days. If the container is deteriorated or damaged, it is considered a waste, unless the container is repackaged within 96 hours. In these cases, the waste must pose a threat to human health or the environment (HSC 25124).

Activity 1: Waste or not