AUTHORITY: Implementing Sections 7.2 and 22.4 and authorized by Section 27 of the Environmental Protection Act [415 ILCS 5/7.2, 22.4 and 27].
SOURCE: Adopted in R81-22 at 5 Ill. Reg. 9781, effective May 17, 1982; amended and codified in R81-22 at 6 Ill. Reg. 4828, effective May 17, 1982; amended in R82-18 at 7 Ill. Reg. 2518, effective February 22, 1983; amended in R82-19 at 7 Ill. Reg. 13999, effective October 12, 1983; amended in R84-34, 61 at 8 Ill. Reg. 24562, effective December 11, 1984; amended in R84-9 at 9 Ill. Reg. 11834, effective July 24, 1985; amended in R85-22 at 10 Ill. Reg. 998, effective January 2, 1986; amended in R85-2 at 10 Ill. Reg. 8112, effective May 2, 1986; amended in R86-1 at 10 Ill. Reg. 14002, effective August 12, 1986; amended in R86-19 at 10 Ill. Reg. 20647, effective December 2, 1986; amended in R86-28 at 11 Ill. Reg. 6035, effective March 24, 1987; amended in R86-46 at 11 Ill. Reg. 13466, effective August 4, 1987; amended in R87-32 at 11 Ill. Reg. 16698, effective September 30, 1987; amended in R87-5 at 11 Ill. Reg. 19303, effective November 12, 1987; amended in R87-26 at 12 Ill. Reg. 2456, effective January 15, 1988; amended in R87-30 at 12 Ill. Reg. 12070, effective July 12, 1988; amended in R87-39 at 12 Ill. Reg. 13006, effective July 29, 1988; amended in R88-16 at 13 Ill. Reg. 382, effective December 27, 1988; amended in R89-1 at 13 Ill. Reg. 18300, effective November 13, 1989; amended in R90-2 at 14 Ill. Reg. 14401, effective August 22, 1990; amended in R90-10 at 14 Ill. Reg. 16472, effective September 25, 1990; amended in R90-17 at 15 Ill. Reg. 7950, effective May 9, 1991; amended in R90-11 at 15 Ill. Reg. 9332, effective June 17, 1991; amended in R91-1 at 15 Ill. Reg. 14473, effective September 30, 1991; amended in R91-12 at 16 Ill. Reg. 2155, effective January 27, 1992; amended in R91-26 at 16 Ill. Reg. 2600, effective February 3, 1992; amended in R91-13 at 16 Ill. Reg. 9519, effective June 9, 1992; amended in R92-1 at 16 Ill. Reg. 17666, effective November 6, 1992; amended in R92-10 at 17 Ill. Reg. 5650, effective March 26, 1993; amended in R93-4 at 17 Ill. Reg. 20568, effective November 22, 1993; amended in R93-16 at 18 Ill. Reg. 6741, effective April 26, 1994; amended in R94-7 at 18 Ill. Reg. 12175, effective July 29, 1994; amended in R94-17 at 18 Ill. Reg. 17490, effective November 23, 1994; amended in R95-6 at 19 Ill. Reg. 9522, effective June 27, 1995; amended in R95-20 at 20 Ill. Reg. 10963, effective August 1, 1996; amended in R96-10/R97-3/R97-5 at 22 Ill. Reg. 275, effective December 16, 1997; amended in R98-12 at 22 Ill. Reg. 7615, effective April 15, 1998; amended in R97-21/R98-3/R98-5 at 22 Ill. Reg. 17531, effective September 28, 1998; amended in R98-21/R99-2/R99-7 at 23 Ill. Reg. 1718, effective January 19, 1999; amended in R99-15 at 23 Ill. Reg. 9135, effective July 26, 1999; amended in R00-13 at 24 Ill. Reg. 9481, effective June 20, 2000; amended in R01-3 at 25 Ill. Reg. 1281, effective January 11, 2001; amended in R01-21/R01-23 at 25 Ill. Reg. 9108, effective July 9, 2001; amended in R02-1/R02-12/R02-17 at 26 Ill. Reg. 6584, effective April 22, 2002; amended in R03-18 at 27 Ill. Reg. 12760, effective July 17, 2003; amended in R04-16 at 28 Ill. Reg. 10693, effective July 19, 2004; amended in R05-8 at 29 Ill. Reg. 6003, effective April 13, 2005; amended in R06-5/R06-6/R06-7 at 30 Ill. Reg. 2992, effective February 23, 2006; amended in R06-16/R06-17/R06-18 at 31 Ill. Reg. 791, effective December 20, 2006; amended in R07-5/R07-14 at 32 Ill. Reg. 11786, effective July 14, 2008; amended in R09-3 at 33 Ill. Reg. 986, effective December 30, 2008; amended in R09-16/R10-4 at 34 Ill. Reg. 18611, effective November 12, 2010; amended in R11-2/R11-16 at 35 Ill. Reg. 17734, effective October 14, 2011; amended in R13-5 at 37 Ill. Reg. 3213, effective March 4, 2013; amended in R14-13 at 38 Ill. Reg. 12442, effective May 27, 2014; amended in R15-1 at 39 Ill. Reg. 1607, effective January 12, 2015; amended in R16-7 at 40 Ill. Reg. 11367, effective August 9, 2016; amended in R17-14/R17-15/R18-12/R18-31 at 42 Ill. Reg. 21673, effective November 19, 2018; amended in R19-3 at 43 Ill. Reg. 496, effective December 6, 2018; amended in R19-11 at 43 Ill. Reg. 5884, effective May 2, 2019; amended in R20-8/R20-16 at 44 Ill. Reg. 15142, effective September 3, 2020; amended in R21-13, R22-13, R24-4 at 48 Ill. Reg. 9827, effective June 20, 2024; amended in R24-12 at 48 Ill. Reg. 16813, effective November 7, 2024.
SUBPART A: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 721.101 Purpose and Scope
a) This Part identifies those solid wastes that are subject to regulation as hazardous wastes under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702, 703, and 722 through 728, and that are subject to the notification requirements of Section 3010 of RCRA (42 USC 6930). In this Part:
1) Subpart A defines the terms "solid waste" and "hazardous waste", identifies those wastes that are excluded from regulation under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 702, 703, and 722 through 728, and establishes special management requirements for hazardous waste that is recycled.
2) Subpart B specifies the criteria used to identify characteristics of hazardous waste and to list hazardous wastes.
3) Subpart C identifies characteristics of hazardous wastes.
4) Subpart D lists particular hazardous wastes.
b) Limitations on Definition of Solid Waste
1) The definition of solid waste contained in this Part applies only to wastes that also are hazardous for the regulations implementing Subtitle C of RCRA. For example, it does not apply to materials (like non-hazardous scrap, paper, textiles, or rubber) that are not otherwise hazardous wastes and that are recycled.
2) This Part identifies only some of the materials that are solid wastes and hazardous wastes under Sections 1004(5), 1004(27) and 7003 of RCRA. A material that is not defined as a solid waste in this Part, or is not a hazardous waste identified or listed in this Part, is still a hazardous waste under those Sections if, in the case of Section 7003 of RCRA, the statutory elements are established.
c) For Sections 721.102 and 721.106, the following definitions apply:
1) A "spent material" is any material that has been used and because of contamination can no longer serve the purpose for which it was produced without processing.
2) "Sludge" has the same meaning used in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110.
3) A "by-product" is a material that is not one of the primary products of a production process and is not solely or separately produced by the production process. Examples are process residues like slags or distillation column bottoms. The term does not include a co-product that is produced for the general public's use and is ordinarily used in the form it is produced by the process.
4) A material is "reclaimed" if it is processed to recover a usable product, or if it is regenerated. Examples are recovering lead values from spent batteries and regenerating spent solvents. In addition, for Section 721.104(a)(23) and (a)(24) smelting, melting, and refining furnaces are considered to be solely engaged in metals reclamation if the metal recovery from the hazardous secondary materials meets the same requirements as those specified for metals recovery from hazardous waste in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.200(d)(1) through (d)(3), and if the residuals meet the requirements specified in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.212.
5) A material is "used or reused" if:
A) It is employed as an ingredient (including use as an intermediate) in an industrial process to make a product (for example, distillation bottoms from one process used as feedstock in another process). However, a material will not meet this condition if distinct components of the material are recovered as separate end products (as when metals are recovered from metal-containing secondary materials); or
B) It is employed in a particular function or application as an effective substitute for a commercial product (for example, spent pickle liquor used as phosphorus precipitant and sludge conditioner in wastewater treatment).
6) "Scrap metal" is bits and pieces of metal parts (e.g., bars, turnings, rods, sheets, or wire) or metal pieces that may be combined with bolts or soldering (e.g., radiators, scrap automobiles, or railroad box cars) that when worn or superfluous can be recycled.
7) A material is "recycled" if it is used, reused, or reclaimed.
8) A material is "accumulated speculatively" if it is accumulated before being recycled. A material is not accumulated speculatively, however, if the person accumulating it can show that the material is potentially recyclable and has a feasible means of being recycled; and that, during the calendar year (commencing on January 1), the amount of material that is recycled, or transferred to a different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material accumulated at the beginning of the period. Materials must be placed in a storage unit with a label indicating the first date that the material began to be accumulated. If placing a label on the storage unit is not practicable, the accumulation period must be documented through an inventory log or other appropriate method. In calculating the percentage of turnover, the 75 percent requirement is to be applied to each material of the same type (e.g., slags from a single smelting process) that is recycled in the same way (i.e., from which the same material is recovered or that is used in the same way). Materials accumulating in units that would be exempt from regulation under Section 721.104(c) are not to be included in making the calculation. Materials that are already defined as solid wastes also are not to be included in making the calculation. Materials are no longer in this category once they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however.
BOARD NOTE: Various segments of this Part and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720 use the verbal phrase "accumulated speculatively" and the noun phrase "speculative accumulation". Some of those segments rely on this subsection (c)(8) definition of "speculatively accumulated" for defining "speculative accumulation". The Board infers that USEPA intends that the verb phrase define the noun phrase: material that is accumulated speculatively is the subject of speculative accumulation.
9) "Excluded scrap metal" is processed scrap metal, unprocessed home scrap metal, and unprocessed prompt scrap metal.
10) "Processed scrap metal" is scrap metal that has been manually or physically altered to either separate it into distinct materials to enhance economic value or to improve the handling of materials. Processed scrap metal includes scrap metal that has been baled, shredded, sheared, chopped, crushed, flattened, cut, melted, or separated by metal type (i.e., sorted) and fines, drosses, and related materials that have been agglomerated. (Note: shredded circuit boards being sent for recycling are not considered processed scrap metal. They are covered under the exclusion from the definition of solid waste for shredded circuit boards being recycled (Section 721.104(a)(14))).
11) "Home scrap metal" is scrap metal as generated by steel mills, foundries, and refineries, like turnings, cuttings, punchings, and borings.
12) "Prompt scrap metal" is scrap metal as generated by the metal working/fabrication industries, and it includes scrap metal like turnings, cuttings, punchings, and borings. Prompt scrap metal is also known as industrial or new scrap metal.
d) The Agency has inspection authority under Section 3007 of RCRA and Section 4 of the Act.
e) Electronic reporting. The filing of any document under any provision of this Part as an electronic document is subject to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.104.
BOARD NOTE: Subsection (e) is derived from 40 CFR 3, 271.10(b), 271.11(b), and 271.12(h) (2017).
(Source: Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 16813, effective November 7, 2024)
Section 721.102 Definition of Solid Waste
a) Solid Waste
1) A solid waste is any discarded material that is not excluded pursuant to Section 721.104(a) or that is not excluded pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.130 and 720.131 or 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.130 and 720.134.
2) Discarded Material
A) A discarded material is any material that is described as follows:
i) It is abandoned, as described in subsection (b);
ii) It is recycled, as described in subsection (c);
iii) It is considered inherently waste-like, as described in subsection (d); or
iv) It is a military munition identified as a solid waste in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 726.302.
B) This subsection (a)(2)(B) corresponds with 40 CFR 261.2(a)(2)(ii), which USEPA has removed and marked "reserved". This statement maintains structural consistency with the corresponding federal regulations.
b) A material is a solid waste if it is abandoned in one of the following ways:
1) It is disposed of;
2) It is burned or incinerated;
3) It is accumulated, stored, or treated (but not recycled) before or in lieu of being abandoned by being disposed of, burned, or incinerated; or
4) Sham recycled, as explained in subsection (g).
c) A material is a solid waste if it is recycled − or accumulated, stored, or treated before recycling − as specified in subsections (c)(1) through (c)(4), if one of the following occurs with regard to the material:
1) The material is used in a manner constituting disposal.
A) A material that is noted with a "yes" in column 1 of the table in Appendix Z is a solid waste when one of the following occurs :
i) The material is applied to or placed on the land in a manner that constitutes disposal; or
ii) The material is used to produce products that are applied to or placed on the land or are otherwise contained in products that are applied to or placed on the land (in which cases the product itself remains a solid waste).
B) However, a commercial chemical product that is listed in Section 721.133 is not a solid waste if it is applied to the land and that is its ordinary manner of use.
2) The material is burned for energy recovery.
A) A material that is noted with a "yes" in column 2 of the table in Appendix Z is a solid waste when one of the following occurs:
i) It is burned to recover energy;
ii) It is used to produce a fuel or is otherwise contained in fuels (in which case the fuel itself remains a solid waste);
iii) It is contained in fuels (in which case the fuel itself remains a solid waste).
B) However, a commercial chemical product that is listed in Section 721.133 is not a solid waste if it is itself a fuel.
3) Reclaimed. A material noted with a "No" in column 3 of the table in Appendix Z is not a solid waste when reclaimed (except as provided under Section 721.104(a)(17)). A material noted with a "Yes" in column 3 of Appendix Z is a solid waste when reclaimed, unless it meets the requirements of Section 721.104(a)(17), (a)(23), (a)(24), or (a)(27).
4) Accumulated Speculatively. A material noted with "yes" in column 4 of the table in Appendix Z is a solid waste when accumulated speculatively.
d) Inherently Waste-Like Materials. The following materials are solid wastes when they are recycled in any manner:
1) USEPA hazardous waste numbers F020, F021 (unless used as an ingredient to make a product at the site of generation), F022, F023, F026, and F028.
2) A secondary material fed to a halogen acid furnace that exhibits a characteristic of a hazardous waste or which is listed as a hazardous waste, as defined in Subpart C or D, except for brominated material that meets the following criteria:
A) The material must contain a bromine concentration of at least 45 percent;
B) The material must contain less than a total of one percent of toxic organic compounds listed in Appendix H; and
C) The material is processed continually on-site in the halogen acid furnace via direct conveyance (hard piping).
3) The following criteria are used to add wastes to the list:
A) Disposal Method or Toxicity
i) The material is ordinarily disposed of, burned, or incinerated; or
ii) The material contains toxic constituents listed in Appendix H and these constituents are not ordinarily found in raw materials or products for which the material substitutes (or are found in raw materials or products in smaller concentrations) and is not used or reused during the recycling process; and
B) The material may pose a substantial hazard to human health and the environment when recycled.
e) Materials That Are Not Solid Waste When Recycled
1) A material is not a solid waste when it can be shown to be recycled by fulfilling one of the following conditions:
A) It is used or reused as an ingredient in an industrial process to make a product, provided the material is not being reclaimed; or
B) It is used or reused as effective substitutes for commercial products; or
C) It is returned to the original process from which it is generated, without first being reclaimed or land disposed. The material must be returned as a substitute for feedstock materials. In cases where the original process to which the material is returned is a secondary process, the material must be managed in such a manner that there is no placement on the land. In cases where the material is generated and reclaimed within the primary mineral processing industry, the conditions of the exclusion found at Section 721.104(a)(17) apply rather than this provision.
2) The following materials are solid wastes, even if the recycling involves use, reuse, or return to the original process (described in subsections (e)(1)(A) through (e)(1)(C)):
A) A material used in a manner constituting disposal or used to produce a product that is applied to the land; or
B) A material burned for energy recovery, used to produce a fuel, or contained in fuels; or
C) A material accumulated speculatively; or
D) A material listed in subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2).
f) Documentation of Claims That a material is Not a Solid Waste or is Conditionally Exempt from Regulation. A respondent in an action to enforce regulations implementing Subtitle C of RCRA or Section 21 of the Environmental Protection Act that raises a claim that a certain material is not a solid waste or that the material is conditionally exempt from regulation must demonstrate that there is a known market or disposition for the material and that the material meets the terms of the exclusion or exemption. In doing so, the person must provide appropriate documentation (such as contracts showing that a second person uses the material as an ingredient in a production process) to demonstrate that the material is not a waste or that the material is exempt from regulation. In addition, an owner or operator of a facility claiming that it actually is recycling a material must show that it has the necessary equipment to recycle that material.
g) Sham Recycling. A hazardous secondary material found to be sham recycled is considered discarded and a solid waste. Sham recycling is recycling that is not legitimate recycling, as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.143.
(Source: Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 21673, effective November 19, 2018)