To restore and develop California’s land, where does toxic waste go?
First, a contaminated piece of land, such as a former pesticide factory or military installation, is identified. Soil at these sites may contain dangerous heavy metals and chemicals.
Lab soil tests mimic landfill conditions to see how much of a contaminant might leach into groundwater, determining the hazard level.
Depending on the level of contamination, the waste might end up at a variety of disposal sites around the state — or outside of California entirely in states with less strict laws.
Hazard Level
Some California-only hazardous waste goes to regular waste landfills in Arizona and Utah.
California has its own stricter hazardous waste regulations including a different lab test. Some waste can pass the federal test but still fail the state test and be considered hazardous under California law.
But unlike federal law, state law ends at the border. So while California-only hazardous waste needs to be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility if it stays in California, when the waste crosses state lines it is governed by the laws of whatever state it’s in.
Oregon and Nevada have laws which effectively say they’ll treat waste as hazardous if a neighboring state labels it hazardous. Arizona and Utah have no such laws. As a result, government agencies and businesses often dump their California-only hazardous waste at regular, municipal waste landfills in Arizona and Utah.
Some California-only hazardous waste goes to regular waste landfills in Arizona and Utah.
California has its own stricter hazardous waste regulations including a different lab test. Some waste can pass the federal test but still fail the state test and be considered hazardous under California law.
But unlike federal law, state law ends at the border. So while California-only hazardous waste needs to be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility if it stays in California, when the waste crosses state lines it is governed by the laws of whatever state it’s in.
Oregon and Nevada have laws which effectively say they’ll treat waste as hazardous if a neighboring state labels it hazardous. Arizona and Utah have no such laws. As a result, government agencies and businesses often dump their California-only hazardous waste at regular, municipal waste landfills in Arizona and Utah.