Learn the Issues: Waste
Nearly everything we do leaves behind some kind of waste. Households create ordinary garbage, while industrial and manufacturing processes create solid and hazardous wastes. EPA regulates all this waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Garbage (Non-Hazardous Waste)
More commonly known as trash or garbage, non-hazardous waste consists of everyday items we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, bottles, food scraps, and newspapers. This comes from our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
- Non-Hazardous Waste
- Landfills
- Industrial Waste
- Backyard Burning
- Food Waste
- Coal Combustion Residuals
What You Can Do:
- Reduce waste at home, at work, in the community
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Plug into eCycling: recycle electronics
- WasteWise Program
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the environment. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes.
- Hazardous Waste, including information for generators, transporters, treatment, storage and disposal.
- Household Hazardous Waste
- Universal Waste: Federally designated hazardous waste with streamlined management standards.
What You Can Do:
Learn About: Composting
Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants. It is created by combining organic wastes (e.g., yard trimmings, food wastes, manures) in proper ratios into piles, rows, or vessels; adding bulking agents (e.g., wood chips) as necessary to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials; and allowing the finished material to fully stabilize and mature through a curing process.
Composting offers the environmental benefits of resource efficiency and creating a useful product from organic waste that would otherwise have been landfilled. Learn how to create your own compost pile.
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