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On January 13, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency published its final rule on the Definition of Solid Waste and the scrap recycling industry was able to breathe a big sigh of relief.  Publication of the final rule is the culmination of a 3½-year process that began with a proposed rule in July of 2011.  The proposed rule had the potential to impair significantly the scrap recycling industry’s ability to do business in an economic and efficient manner by imposing stringent new criteria in order to determine if scrap metals would or would not be characterized as a hazardous waste and would have required recyclers to maintain documentation of those determinations.

ISRI put together a team that included a member task force comprised of members who are very familiar with the issues surrounding the definition of solid waste as well as a top-notch group of lawyers, environmental and economic consultants and lobbyists to address the proposed rule.  In October 2011, ReMA submitted voluminous comments to the EPA, supported by three consultants’ reports addressing key issues relating to the effect of the proposed rules on the industry.  ReMA also met numerous times with representatives from EPA, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is an entity within OMB charged with reviewing all federal regulations for compliance with White House Policy and a number of Executive Orders and rules having to do with regulations.  ReMA also met with Senators and Representatives, asking them to weigh in on the matter.

After reading the final rule several times, the consensus amongst our team is cautious optimism.  There are a few questions lingering but ReMA has met with EPA to address some of them and believes EPA is willing to work cooperatively to resolve the remaining questions.  ReMA is currently developing a “plain English” guidance document intended to help our members understand the final rule and the obligations they may have with regard to the final rule.  For the meantime, members can take solace in the fact that the exemption from hazardous waste regulations for unprocessed scrap metal that will be recycled and the exclusion from the definitions of solid waste for processed, prompt and home scrap remain in place.  It should be noted that unless they exhibit a hazardous characteristic scrap paper, plastic, glass, rubber, and textiles have never been subject to the hazardous waste rules as scrap metal has.  It is these two points that have allowed the industry to consistently process and ship over 125 million metric tons of scrap recyclables on an annual basis.

For more information, contact Scott Horne.