Who is Responsible for the Air We Breathe?

The U.S. Congress established the first Clean Air Act in 1963, which provided funding for the study and the cleanup of air pollution; however there was no comprehensive federal response to address air pollution until Congress created the U.S. EPA and passed a much stronger Clean Air Act in 1970. Since then, the EPA has set limits on certain air pollutants and created a goal of ensuring basic health and environmental protection from air pollution for all Americans. The Clean Air Act (CAA) gives the EPA the authority to limit emissions of air pollutants coming from major sources like industrial, commercial and institutional boilers, and process heaters as well as commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units.

Section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants emitted by major stationary sources based on the performance of the maximum achievable control technology. Industrial, commercial and institutional boilers and process heaters are typically regulated under section 112(d) of the CAA.

Congress added section 129 to the CAA in 1990, specifically to address emissions from solid waste combustion. CAA section 129 directs the EPA to promulgate emission standards for “Solid Waste Incineration Units.” Commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) units include any devices used to burn solid waste at a commercial or industrial facility. This does not include municipal solid waste incinerators, which are covered under separate rules. Examples of CISWI units include:

• Units designed to discard solid waste;
• Energy recovery units designed to recover heat that combust solid waste;
• Waste burning kilns that combust solid waste in the manufacture of a product; and
• Burn-off ovens that combust residual material off racks, parts, drums or hooks so those items can be re-used in various production processes.

During the mid-1990s, a large, untapped source of wood fuel was discovered in the construction and demolition (C&D) waste stream and numerous companies took on the task of extracting that wood from the C&D waste stream to use as a fuel in industrial, commercial and institutional boilers and process heaters. The low moisture content and low dirt content of this fuel quickly made it a premium fuel source; however the issue of its status as a waste or a fuel was never addressed until now.

Today, the EPA, through 40 CFR Part 257, seeks to clarify the identification of non-hazardous materials that are solid waste by asking the question: When is a waste a waste and when is a waste a fuel? Wikipedia defines recycling as follows:

“Recycling involves processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.”

The very definition of recycling includes converting waste into usable products. Groups requesting the EPA rule that waste is always waste are asking the EPA to declare all recycling a sham. I seriously doubt the EPA is ready to make that announcement; which leads us back to the title of this article; “Who is responsible for the air we breathe?”  

The obvious answer is the EPA; however in the case of using wood extracted from C&D debris as a source of fuel, the responsibility clearly falls on the shoulders of the people who have taken on the task of completing the conversion process. We as processors must make sure the fuel we produce is compatible with the air pollution control equipment typically used by the industrial, commercial and institutional boilers and process heaters that consume our fuel. We must provide the EPA with assurance the wood we extract from the C&D waste stream is a safe and efficient source of fuel.

Because, if at the end of the day, if we cause more problems than we solve; what is the point in our existence?  

Terry Gillis is president of Recovery One, Inc., a long-time mixed C&D recycler in Tacoma, Wash.

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