The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) welcomed the publishing of a rule revising the regulatory definition of “solid waste” (DSW) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. William Allmond, SOCMA vice president of government and public relations issued the following statement:
“After reviewing the rule with our membership, we note that EPA has retained at least two of our top priorities in the final rule. These priorities were especially important to us, given that more than 80% of our members are small businesses, which are often disproportionally affected by the impact of regulations.
“SOCMA is particularly pleased that EPA continues to recognize the very nature of our companies’ tolling relationships ensures their manufacturing byproducts are not ‘discarded—thus encouraging recycling.
“We strongly support the retention of the ‘Under the Control of the Generator’ exclusion, and its related tolling provision. This exclusion could save our member companies tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars by allowing them to recycle materials they wouldn’t otherwise be able to recycle. Those savings could be particularly significant for smaller manufacturers.
“SOCMA also supports the retention of the remanufacturing exclusion, which is an addition to the 2008 final rule. While we would have liked to have seen EPA add a few solvents—materials so versatile, they are considered ‘commodity’ chemicals—to the proposed rule, we still very much welcome this exclusion as it will remove the current regulatory disincentive to companies recycling the relevant chemicals.
“We have some concerns with other aspects of the rule – most notably, those involving the mandatory four legitimacy criteria, and we are still running those concerns by our membership for feedback. That feedback will reveal whether some of the new language in the final rule alleviates those concerns, or whether the new legitimacy criteria language significantly dilutes the benefits of the provisions we strongly support.”
For related articles, news, and equipment reviews, visit our Equipment Zones
