Hazardous waste generation and processing

A waste is considered hazardous if it exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity. This paper reviews the sources of hazardous waste generation which come mainly from industries. The major types of hazardous wastes are toxic organic compounds and heavy metals. Up to the present, the developed countries such as USA, Japan and many European countries are the major hazardous wastes generators, while increasing quantity of hazardous wastes is being generated by the newly industrialized countries (NICs). To minimize hazardous waste disposal problems, certain technologies to reduce waste quantity are recommended. These technologies include; in-plant minimization, raw material alteration, equipment redesign, improved housekeeping and product substitution. Some proven hazardous waste processing and treatment technologies are described in the paper.