Waste is a term used to describe undesired items considered no longer useful or materials that are by-products of manufacturing processes. RCT initiated projects includes strategic plans to reduce and eliminate hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, which includes special industrial wastes, chemical and fertilizer wastes, empty containers, industrial solvents, by-product wastes and specialty chemical process wastes. Today, these materials are transported, treated, stored, recycled, buried and/or burned.

The word "waste" is associated with inefficiency and unnecessary expense. Waste is undesirable in most aspects of our daily work and personal lives. Hazardous wastes and non-hazardous wastes are no exception; more and more frequently, they are being viewed as inefficient and expensive uses of our economic and natural resources. Also, collecting, transporting, processing and disposing of these wastes can pose risks to workers, human health and the environment.

Solid waste is a frequently-used term that actually includes both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. The five general types of wastes that are included under the umbrella definition of solid waste and their definitions are better described below:

TYPES OF SOLID WASTE