ZERO WASTE is the recycling of all materials back into nature or the marketplace in a manner that protects human health and the environment.

 


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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DISPOSAL
& RECYCLING:

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CONSUMERS-
BUSINESS:

 Laws&Regs Enforcement Legislation LawCases LawNews

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS & REGULATIONS ...with emphasis on THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT OF 1976 (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - RCRA)

 General Information  Environmental protection is guaranteed under law. Laws are made from common, case, and legislative law. It is important for ordinary citizens to have access to and understand our complex and confusing array of laws and regulations. Often citizens demand more laws, when the laws they demand already exist. At times, the laws are in conflict with each other or regulations or policy. A chronic problem in the United States is that our environmental laws are often not enforced by both federal and state government authorities. The prevailing law should be the one at the top of the food chain.

TYPES OF LAW:

Legislative Law -

1. PUBLIC LAWS are acts passed into law by Congress and should be a mirror version of the U.S. Code (only the numbers and letters should differ). For those interested in the history of a federal law (i.e., the name of the act or acts that became Public Law), that information is located in publications of the Public Law. Many laws are not available online.

2. U.S. CODE (see below) are statutes (i.e., the codification of Public Laws) written by Congress and should be a mirror version of Public Laws (only the numbers and letters should differ). The online versions may not be up-to-date. Titles 1 through 26 (U.S. Code) of databases below are currently up-to-date through January 6, 1997. Titles 27 through 50 are currently up-to-date through January 16, 1996. The U.S. Code database constitutes the 1994 Edition of the U.S. Code, plus Supplement I and the contents of the most recent edition of the Law Revision Counsel's U.S. Code Classification Table. The U.S. Code Classification Table covers Public Laws 104-1 through 105-174 (enacted May 1, 1998). The text of recently adopted public laws is separately available through the University of California's GPO Gate. Or use "Update" option on Cornell's navigation bar. Order The U.S. CODE / Search The U.S. CODE through the U.S. Gov't Printing Office, or contact: http://www.westgroup.com.

3. CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS-CFRs (see below) are regulations written by the Executive Branch to support specific statutes in the law. CRFs cannot conflict with those statutes or go beyond the purpose of the statutes. If they do conflict, then the U.S. Code prevails. Search: CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS-CFRs.

NOTES:

ENVIRONMENTAL (and Waste) LAWS & REGULATIONS   

U.S. CODE- courtesy Cornell University (much easier to use than House of Representatives webpage - see U.S. Code

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR'S)

EPA's Laws and Regulations Webpage: More than a dozen major statutes or laws form the legal basis for the programs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). See list - http://www.epa.gov/epahome/laws.htm

Enviro Law websites:

General Information Sources:

Check Out - CONSUMER LAW PAGE: Articles, information, and referrals for individuals, injured workers, consumers and owners of small businesses who have suffered personal injuries, property damage or financial losses caused by negligent misconduct, toxic chemicals, defective products, or fraud.

BOOKS: