There’s More Energy in Coffee than Just the Caffeine: A Proposal to Revise the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule Using the Principles of Integrated Solid Waste Management
31 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2014
Date Written: May 1, 2014
Abstract
In February 2013, the EPA issued the revised “Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste” rule (the NHSM rule). This rule was to provide guidance as to when non-hazardous secondary materials (NHSMs) would be considered solid waste under RCRA when combusted. This in turn would determine how a combustion unit that uses NHSMs as fuel would be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
This Note examines the content of this revised rule using the principles of Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM), which are a set of comprehensive waste management principles that consider how to effectively protect human health and the environment by preventing, recycling, and disposing of solid waste. It also examines the history of the rulemaking process as well as the history of solid waste regulation in America. Finally, the Note proposes a revision to the NHSM rule that better incorporates the flexibility needed in an effective ISWM system.
Keywords: NHSM, EPA, integrated solid waste management, ISWM, secondary material, combustion, trash, solid waste, fuel, discarded, RCRA, Clean Air Act
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