The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released the Hazardous Waste Management Report’s first draft, as required by Senate Bill 158 (SB 158), on July 17th. The report outlines how California should handle hazardous waste, with plans created through Hazardous Waste Management Plans and approved by the Board of Environmental Safety (BES) after public discussions. The first plan is expected in March 2025, with subsequent plans every three years.

DTSC’s primary mission is to safeguard California’s people, communities, and environment from toxic substances, restore damaged land to improve economic vitality and encourage producers to create safer consumer products.

DTSC has identified four essential areas for examination in the report, based on public feedback and legal requirements:

• 1. Waste Reduction:Focusing on specific industries or waste streams to develop better, sustainable waste management plans, such as on-site treatment, recycling, pollution prevention, safer products, and promoting a strong circular economy in California.
• 2. Capacity Assurance: Identifying opportunities to enhance in-state access to waste management capacity.
• 3. Hazardous Waste Criteria:Evaluating whether current hazardous waste criteria are in line with current science and technology and comparing California’s and the U.S. EPA’s criteria.
• 4. Environmental Waste: Considering input from environmental justice communities regarding hazardous waste management challenges, including site cleanups.

Reference: https://dtsc.ca.gov/