40 CFR § 246.101 - Definitions.

As used in these guidelines:

(a) Agricultural solid waste means the solid waste that is generated by the rearing of animals, and the producing and harvesting of crops or trees.

(b) Baler means a machine used to compress solid wastes, primary materials, or recoverable materials, with or without binding, to a density or from which will support handling and transportation as a material unit rather than requiring a disposable or reuseable container. This specifically excludes briquetters and stationary compaction equipment which is used to compact materials into disposable or reuseable containers.

(c) Bulk container means a large container that can either be pulled or lifted mechanically onto a service vehicle or emptied mechanically into a service vehicle.

(d) Classified Waste means waste material that has been given security classification in accordance with 50 U.S.C. 401 and Executive Order 11652.

(e) Collection means the act of removing solid waste (or materials which have been separated for the purpose of recycling) from a central storage point.

(f) Commercial establishment means stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses and other non-manufacturing activities.

(g) Commercial solid waste means all types of solid wastes generated by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses and other non-manufacturing activities, and non-processing wastes such as office and packing wastes generated at industrial facilities.

(h) Construction and demolition waste means the waste building materials, packaging, and rubble resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition operations on pavements, houses, commercial buildings and other structures.

(i) Compartmentalized vehicle means a collection vehicle which has two or more compartments for placement of solid wastes or recyclable materials. The compartments may be within the main truck body or on the outside of that body as in the form of metal racks.

(j) Corrugated container waste means discarded corrugated boxes.

(k) Corrugated box means a container for goods which is composed of an inner fluting of material (corrugating medium) and one or two outer liners of material (linerboard).

(l) Federal facility means any building, installation, structure, land, or public work owned by or leased to the Federal Government. Ships at sea, aircraft in the air, land forces on maneuvers, and other mobile facilities are not considered Federal facilities for the purpose of these guidelines. United States Government installations located on foreign soil or on land outside the jurisdiction of the United States Government are not considered Federal facilities for the purpose of these guidelines.

(m) Food waste means the organic residues generated by the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking, and serving of foods; commonly called garbage.

(n) Generation means the act or process of producing solid waste.

(o) High-grade paper means letterhead, dry copy papers, miscellaneous business forms, stationery, typing paper, tablet sheets, and computer printout paper and cards, commonly sold as “white ledger,” “computer printout” and “tab card” grade by the wastepaper industry.

(p) Industrial solid waste means the solid waste generated by industrial processes and manufacturing.

(q) Infectious waste means: (1) Equipment, instruments, utensils, and fomites (any substance that may harbor or transmit pathogenic organisms) of a disposable nature from the rooms of patients who are suspected to have or have been diagnosed as having a communicable disease and must, therefore, be isolated as required by public health agencies; (2) laboratory wastes, such as pathological specimens (e.g. all tissues, specimens of blood elements, excreta, and secretions obtained from patients or laboratory animals) and disposable fomites attendant thereto; (3) surgical operating room pathologic specimens and disposable fomites attendant thereto and similar disposable materials from outpatient areas and emergency rooms.

(r) Institutional solid waste means solid wastes generated by educational, health care, correctional and other institutional facilities.

(s) Mining wastes means residues which result from the extraction of raw materials from the earth.

(t) Post-consumer waste (PCW) means a material or product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery after passing through the hands of a final consumer.

(u) Recoverable resources means materials that still have useful physical, chemical, or biological properties after serving their original purpose and can, therefore, be reused or recycled for the same or other purposes.

(v) Recovery means the process of obtaining materials or energy resources from solid waste.

(w) Recycled material means a material that is used in place of a primary, raw or virgin material in manufacturing a product.

(x) Recycling means the process by which recovered materials are transformed into new products.

(y) Residential solid waste means the wastes generated by the normal activities of households, including but not limited to, food wastes, rubbish, ashes, and bulky wastes.

(z) Separate collection means collecting recyclable materials which have been separated at the point of generation and keeping those materials separate from other collected solid waste in separate compartments of a single collection vehicle or through the use of separate collection vehicles.

(aa) Sludge means the accumulated semiliquid suspension of settled solids deposited from wastewaters or other fluids in tanks or basins. It does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in water resources, such as silt, dissolved material in irrigation return flows or other common water pollutants.

(bb) Solid waste means garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded solid materials, including solid waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solids or dissolved materials in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in water resources, such as silt, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial wastewater effluents, dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or other common water pollutants. Unless specifically noted otherwise, the term “solid waste” as used in these guidelines shall not include mining, agricultural, and industrial solid wastes; hazardous wastes; sludges; construction and demolition wastes; and infectious wastes.

(cc) Source separation means the setting aside of recyclable materials at their point of generation by the generator.

(dd) Specification means a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for materials, products or services, identifying the minimum requirements for quality and construction of materials and equipment necessary for an acceptable product. In general, specifications are in the form of written descriptions, drawings, prints, commercial designations, industry standards, and other descriptive references.

(ee) Stationary compactor means a powered machine which is designed to compact solid waste or recyclable materials, and which remains stationary when in operation.

(ff) Storage means the interim containment of solid waste after generation and prior to collection for ultimate recovery or disposal.

(gg) Virgin material means a raw material used in manufacturing that has been mined or harvested and has not as yet become a product.