Reengineering RCRA: The Command Control Requirements of the Waste Disposal Paradigm of Subtitle C and the Act’s Objective of Fostering Recycling-Rethinking the Definition of Solid Waste, Again

INTRODUCTION In 1992, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Definition of Solid Waste Task Force (Task Force). 1 Specifically, the Task Force was created to eliminate perceived disincentives to recycling, eliminate regulatory loopholes for those recycling practices presenting risks to health and the environment, and clarify the definition of solid waste. 2 In September, 1994, the Task Force published a report titled Reengineering RCRA for Recycling: Definition of Solid Waste Task Force: Report and Recommendations (Reengineering RCRA). 3 This report advocated a new national regulatory system for recycling. 4 Consistent with past practice, the proposed system is to be administered by the EPA through jurisdiction vested in it by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), 5 as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) 6 . 7 The development of a regulatory system for the recycling of industrial, commercial, and municipal solid wastes is currently among the most significant issues in the environmental policy arena. 8 While the development of other solid waste policies (such as the shift to producer responsibility and the development of market forces to encourage waste reduction and reuse) are increasingly being addressed on a global scale, RCRA recycling is a distinctly national issue. 9 The focus of this article is to develop a regulatory framework for a new national recycling system. The discussion contained herein advocates a regulatory system that moves away from perceptions of recycling as a subset of ..