Solid waste is anything that is not classified as a hazardous waste. Which of the following best describes this statement?

Solid waste is anything that is not classified as a hazardous waste. Which of the following best describes this statement?

• A. False
• B. True
• C. It depends on the jurisdiction
• D. Only if non-toxic

Answer: (A)

The important idea here is that hazardous waste is a subset of solid waste. Solid waste covers all discarded materials that are in a solid form, and within that broad category there is a specific group treated as hazardous because they meet certain characteristics or are listed as hazardous. Because hazardous waste is itself solid waste, the statement that solid waste means anything not hazardous is incorrect. Some solid wastes are hazardous, and some are not, so the relationship is the other way around: all hazardous wastes are solid wastes, but not all solid wastes are hazardous.

The important idea here is that hazardous waste is a subset of solid waste. Solid waste covers all discarded materials that are in a solid form, and within that broad category there is a specific group treated as hazardous because they meet certain characteristics or are listed as hazardous. Because hazardous waste is itself solid waste, the statement that solid waste means anything not hazardous is incorrect. Some solid wastes are hazardous, and some are not, so the relationship is the other way around: all hazardous wastes are solid wastes, but not all solid wastes are hazardous.