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

See all articles by Ross Miller

Ross Miller

Fordham University School of Law

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

Suggested Citation

Miller, Ross, 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 (May 1, 2014). Fordham Environmental Law Review, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 732-762, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2456423

Ross Miller (Contact Author)

Fordham University School of Law ( email )

140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
United States

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