State governments' performance and effectiveness in reducing solid and hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): A study of the chemical industry

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the performance and effectiveness of the regulatory tools adopted by the states in reducing solid and hazardous waste. According to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), states are allowed to enact and enforce provisions that are more stringent and/or broader in scope than the federally approved program. Based on this regulatory background, two research questions were addressed: First, what state level RCRA implementation strategies seem to be most closely associated with the greatest reduction of solid and hazardous waste in the chemical industry? Second, what contextual variables, in addition to the regulations, would affect the reduction of solid and hazardous waste?;To answer these questions, longitudinal waste-related data (1988 to 2002), the status of state chemical industry, and the survey results of states' regulatory choices were obtained from various sources. In this research, waste reduction was operationalized as the rate of reduction to account for possible growth in the chemical industry in a given state as a confounding variable. The research results suggested that: First, technology-based standards, waste fees, and permits may not be considered as effective regulatory tools to reduce solid and hazardous waste. However, compared to other contextual variables, they still had higher effects on waste reduction. Second, the RCRA Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) were the only effective predictor among the variables towards waste reduction.;Suggestions were made according to these findings. First, governments need to remain using technology-based standards as the foundation of the RCRA. Second, states need to modify and revise their current fee and permit systems in order to help reduce waste. Third, the importance of the SEPs needs to be recognized by the states and be utilized as an effective regulatory tool to further reduce waste. Finally, states need to adopt a contextual approach that flexibly tackles their certain waste issues. Together, these suggestions may help address the concerns of public safety, people's right-to-know, and national security threat posed by the possibility of industrial sabotage.