10.1 INTRODUCTION

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is a subgroup of solid waste commonly found in MSW as well as in wastewater streams. As the HHW term implies, these special wastes originate from households. HHW is categorically and unconditionally excluded from regulation as a hazardous waste under RCRA Subtitle C, so long as it is not mixed with a Subtitle C regulated hazardous waste. Because of the broad hazardous waste exclusion, the HHW term is loosely defined and does not necessarily parallel the usual hazardous waste definitions. It is used slightly differently from state to state, and in some cases its exact meaning differs between local jurisdictions.

Programs that handle these wastes are typically concerned about the proper purchase, use, handling, and disposal of products that contain hazardous constituents. The products of concern are not necessarily limited to the RCRA Subtitle C, nor to the Consumer Product Safety Commission s definitions of hazardous. Discarded fluorescent lamps and consumer electronics are two examples of wastes often viewed as HHW despite mixed results when actually tested as hazardous wastes.

As with other special solid wastes, HHW present inherent problems in safe handling. They also involve human health and environmental hazards. A unique feature of this special waste, due to its ambiguous place between the solid and hazardous waste arenas, is that regulation of facilities that manage HHW vary significantly between jurisdictions. For example, California and New York State regulate HHW under their hazardous waste rules. A few other states regulate...