A waste disposal plan is essential when it comes to managing your waste. Hazardous wastes are heavily regulated and cannot be dumped with regular trash.

Assessing the characteristics of the waste is important to determine if it’s dangerous.

Look out for four distinct characteristics when categorizing waste of this kind: more info?

Ignitability-something flammable

Corrosivity-something that can rust or decompose

Something explosive that reacts

Something poisonous

Ignitability

Three types of forms are ignitable:

Fluids that have a 60 degree Celsius flash point (the temperature below which fumes from waste will ignite). Alcohol, gasoline and acetone are examples.

Solids which spontaneously ignite.

Oxidizers, compressed gases and other oxidizers.

Corrosion

Hydrochloric, nitric, or sulfuric acids can leak through container seals, leading to the release of hazardous materials. Check the pH of a liquid to determine if it’s corrosive. If the value is below 2 or above 12,5 or if the liquid can corrode metal, then the substance is likely corrosive. Battery acid and rust-remover are everyday examples of corrosive substances.

Reactivity

Reactive wastes are dangerous due to their instabilities. These are some of the conditions that can be used to determine all reactive materials.

Material that undergoes violent changes without detonating

Material that can cause explosive reactions or mixtures when mixed with water

When mixed with water, materials that react can produce toxic gases which escape into the air.

Toxicity

The environment is at risk from poisonous substances, and this can affect the human body as well as our environment in the long term. The term acute toxicity refers to the harmful effects that an organism can experience after a short or single exposure. Some of the most common toxic substances include fertilizer, raw sewer, pesticides and herbicides.