WM owns four active hazardous waste landfills subject to reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), a public database that provides information about how facilities manage and release certain toxic chemicals in local communities. Under TRI, facilities in certain industry sectors that “manufacture,” “process,” or “otherwise use” listed toxic chemicals above the TRI reporting thresholds must annually report on their environmental releases. WM is required to file annual TRI reports because the EPA includes in its definition of “otherwise use” the placement of chemicals received from off-site generators in modern, secure hazardous waste landfills for land disposal.
Even though TRI-reportable releases must be within levels authorized by permit or regulation, the TRI was initiated to supplement established regulatory and permitting processes and provide communities with information about chemical releases from all the facilities in their vicinity — those releasing emissions to air and water and those containing toxins within structures on their property. As intended by the TRI regulation, disclosure of the total releases emitted in each community has encouraged the regulated community to undertake pollution prevention efforts.
The EPA has affirmed its view that increased quantities of TRI-reportable materials in containment can represent “a generally positive environmental trend because these facilities are in the business of managing hazardous waste and do so under strict controls.”1 EPA TRI analyses have historically distinguished quantities reported to RCRA Subtitle C-regulated disposal units from other reported releases because these facilities are designed and regulated to manage hazardous waste under stringent controls. WM’s emissions under TRI are reported annually in July to the EPA.
WM also focuses on eliminating hazardous substance exposure by working directly with customers. We use our expertise in safely containing hazardous wastes at our permitted facilities to help industrial customers reduce potential exposures at their sites. Our WM Sustainability Services employees work with customers in the design process to reduce the generation of hazardous waste at the outset.
- Source: 200 TRI Public Data Release