Federal Requirements for PTCB Practice Test

Hazardous waste is identified by properties that directly signal danger: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. Biodegradability isn’t part of that set because it describes how a substance breaks down biologically, not its potential to ignite, corrode, react violently, or release toxic substances under disposal conditions. So a waste could be toxic or ignitable even if it is biodegradable, which is why biodegradability is not a characteristic used to classify hazardous waste.