The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) waste management hierarchy framework ranks various waste management strategies based on their environmental impact from most to least preferred. No single approach is possible for all waste streams, so this framework provides an outline for which smart and sustainable waste management choices can be made. 

But with so many waste management strategies to choose from, and so many highly-regulated wastes being generated on the typical lab or manufacturing site, many feel that they’re stuck at the bottom of the waste management hierarchy—simply treating and disposing of waste and unable to move “up” the triangle to more sustainable and preferred options. This is especially true of hazardous, complex, or contaminated wastes, for which many don’t realize there are sustainable waste disposal options available.