Table 1.
Legislations that gave recognition to hazardous waste and promoted solvent recovery
| Legislation/Act/Policy | Agency | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Action Program (1973) | European Community (EC) | Established the first environmental framework by focusing on finding solutions to waste, toxicity, and non-biodegradability issues |
| Polluter Pays Principle (1973) | European Community (EC) | Charged polluters with clean-up costs and also advocated for greener production processes |
| The Framework Directives on Waste (1975) | European Community (EC) | Defined “waste” and “disposal” and proposed various disposal methods. It also advocated for the recovery and recycling of chemical waste by outlining the basic disposal requirements needed to protect human health and the environment |
| The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976) | United States Congress | Mandated the US EPA to promulgate regulations controlling mainly hazardous solid waste from “cradle to grave.” |
| Environmental Action Program (1977) | European Community (EC) | This legislation was enacted to reduce the quality of non-recoverable waste, promote recovery, recycling, and reuse of waste, and proper management practices for the disposal of non-recoverable waste |
| Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment (1984) | United States Congress | Banned the disposal of hazardous liquid waste via landfills, provided the guidelines to disposal facilities on how to handle hazardous liquid waste |
| Environmental Protection Law (1989) | National People’s Congress, China | Enacted to provide environmental standards, monitoring, planning, pollutant discharge, and pollution control. It further provided the administrative, criminal and civil liabilities for the infringement of the environmental laws |
| The Waste Framework Directive (2008) | European Union (EU) | Laid down basic waste management principles. Presented a 5-step hierarchical benchmark for waste management, namely, prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal |
| Environmental Protection Law (2015) | National People’s Congress, China | Sets forth a stringent legal framework, stresses the need for scientific and technological advancement to solve environmental issues |