EPA Rule Promotes Responsible Hazardous Materials Recycling

Rule helps protect communities from the impact of mismanagement of hazardous waste, validating Team Gemini’s efforts in treating waste for the benefit of communities.

Safeguards that promote responsible recycling of hazardous secondary materials are one of the components that will be part of a larger movement to evolve the waste-handling-and-treatment industry in the U.S. Chief among the rule’s tenets is that it seeks to implement both resource conservation and economic benefits, while strengthening protections for environmental justice communities.

“This important rule gives communities a voice in the decisions that impact them, promotes safe and responsible recycling of hazardous secondary materials and conserves vital resources, while protecting those most at risk from the dangers of hazardous secondary materials mismanagement. This innovative rule demonstrates that protecting communities and leveraging economic advantages for sustainable recycling and materials manufacturing can go hand-in-hand,” notes Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

The Center of Resource Recovery & Recycling (COR3) is one of Team Gemini’s technology offerings in handling waste effectively. From separating valuable recyclables for sale as commodities, to diverting unusable or hazardous waste for further processing, different configurations can be implemented to address different needs of communities around the country.

Among other details, the EPA rule re-affirms the legitimacy of in-process recycling and of commodity-grade recycled products, such as metal commodities. The EPA estimates that if 31 states and territories adopt the 2014 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule, it will have an annual regulatory cost savings of $24 million as compared to baseline cost savings in the 8 states and territories that have adopted the 2008 DSW final rule.

To learn more about Team Gemini’s solutions in waste management and use of waste, check out http://teamgemini.us/resource-recovery/ and http://teamgemini.us/bio-refinery/.

To read more details about the EPA ruling, you can view this page.