Waste Definition, Categories, and Hazardous Properties

Posted on May 19, 2024 in Geology

1. Waste Definition and Categories

Waste: Any substance or object belonging to a category of waste specified in the First Schedule [of the Waste Management Act] or for the time being included in the European Waste Catalogue which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard, and anything which is discarded or otherwise dealt with as if it were waste shall be presumed to be waste until the contrary is proved.

Categories:

1. Q1 Production or consumption residues not otherwise specified below
2. Q2 Off-specification products
3. Q3 Products whose date for appropriate use has expired
4. Q4 Materials spilled, lost, or having undergone other mishap, including any materials, equipment, etc., contaminated as a result of the mishap
5. Q5 Materials contaminated or soiled as a result of planned actions (e.g., residues from cleaning operations, packing materials, containers, etc.)
6. Q6 Unusable parts (e.g., reject batteries, exhausted catalysts, etc.)
7. Q7 Substances which no longer perform satisfactorily (e.g., contaminated acids, contaminated solvents, exhausted tempering salts, etc.)
8. Q8 Residues of industrial processes (e.g., slags, still bottoms, etc.)
9. Q9 Residues from pollution abatement processes (e.g., scrubber sludges, baghouse dusts, spent filters, etc.)
10. Q10 Machining/finishing residues (e.g., lathe turnings, mill scales, etc.)
11. Q11 Residues from raw materials extraction and processing (e.g., mining residues, oil field slops, etc.)
12. Q12 Adulterated materials (e.g., oils contaminated with PCBs, etc.)
13. Q13 Any materials, substances, or products the use of which has been banned by law
14. Q14 Products for which the holder has no further use (e.g., agricultural, household, office, commercial, and shop discards)
15. Q15 Contaminated materials, substances, or products resulting from remedial action with respect to land
16. Q16 Any materials, substances, or products which are not contained in the abovementioned categories.

2. Properties of Wastes Which Render Them Hazardous

H1 ‘Explosive’: Substances and preparations which may explode under the effect of flame or which are more sensitive to shocks or friction than dinitrobenzene. H2 ‘Oxidizing’: Substances and preparations which exhibit highly exothermic reactions when in contact with other substances, particularly flammable substances.

H3-A ‘Highly flammable’:

• Liquid substances and preparations having a flash point below 21°C (including extremely flammable liquids), or
• Substances and preparations which may become hot and finally catch fire in contact with air at ambient temperature without any application of energy, or
• Solid substances and preparations which may readily catch fire after brief contact with a source of ignition and which continue to burn or to be consumed after removal of the source of ignition, or
• Gaseous substances and preparations which are flammable in air at normal pressure, or
• Substances and preparations which, in contact with water or damp air, evolve highly flammable gases in dangerous quantities.

H3-B ‘Flammable’: Liquid substances and preparations having a flash point equal to or greater than 21°C and less than or equal to 55°C. H4 ‘Irritant’: Non-corrosive substances and preparations which, through immediate, prolonged, or repeated contact with the skin or mucous membrane, can cause inflammation. H5 ‘Harmful’: Substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve limited health risks. H6 ‘Toxic’: Substances and preparations (including very toxic substances and preparations) which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve serious, acute or chronic health risks and even death. H7 ‘Carcinogenic’: Substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may induce cancer or increase its incidence. H8 ‘Corrosive’: Substances and preparations which may destroy living tissue on contact. H9 ‘Infectious’: Substances containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms. H10 ‘Teratogenic’: Substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may induce non-hereditary congenital malformations or increase their incidence. H11 ‘Mutagenic’: Substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may induce hereditary genetic defects or increase their incidence. H12 Substances and preparations which release toxic or very toxic gases in contact with water, air, or an acid. H13 Substances and preparations capable by any means, after disposal, of yielding another substance, e.g., a leachate, which possesses any of the characteristics listed above. H14 ‘Ecotoxic’: Substances and preparations which present or may present immediate or delayed risks for one or more sectors of the environment.