Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment

plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other
discarded materials including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous
material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations,
and from community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved materials in
domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or
industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permit under 33 USC 1342,
as amended (86 Stat. 880), or source, special nuclear or by-product material as
defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923) except as
may be provided by existing agreements between the State of New York and the
government of the United States (see section 360-1.3 of this Part).

In Simple Words - Solid wastes are any discarded (abandoned or considered

waste-like) materials. Solid wastes can be solid, liquid, semi-solid or
containerized gaseous material.

Examples of solid wastes:

 waste tires
 septage
 scrap metal
 latex paints
 furniture and toys
 domestic refuse (garbage)
 discarded appliances and vehicles
 uncontaminated used oil and anti-freeze
 empty aerosol cans, paint cans and compressed gas cylinders
 construction and demolition debris, asbestos
A material is discarded if it is abandoned by being:
 disposed of;
 burned or incinerated, including being burned as a fuel for the purpose of
recovering usable energy; or
 accumulated, stored or physically, chemically or biologically treated (other
than burned or incinerated) instead of or before being disposed of.
A material is disposed of if it is: Discharged, deposited, injected, dumped,
spilled, leaked or placed into or on any land or water so that such material or any
constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or
discharged into groundwater or surface water.

Construction and demolition (C&D) debris means:

Uncontaminated solid waste resulting from the construction, remodeling, repair

and demolition of utilities, structures and roads; and uncontaminated solid waste
resulting from land clearing. Such waste includes, but is not limited to bricks,
concrete and other masonry materials, soil, rock, wood (including painted, treated
and coated wood and wood products), land clearing debris, wall coverings,
plaster, drywall, plumbing fixtures, non-asbestos insulation, roofing shingles and
other roof coverings, asphaltic pavement, glass, plastics that are not sealed in a
manner that conceals other wastes, empty buckets ten gallons or less in size and
having no more than one inch of residue remaining on the bottom, electrical
wiring and components containing no hazardous liquids, and pipe and metals that
are incidental to any of the above. Solid waste that is not C&D debris (even if
resulting from the construction, remodeling, repair and demolition of utilities,
structures and roads and land clearing) includes, but is not limited to asbestos
waste, garbage, corrugated container board, electrical fixtures containing
hazardous liquids such as fluorescent light ballasts or transformers, fluorescent
lights, carpeting, furniture, appliances, tires, drums, containers greater than ten
gallons in size, any containers having more than one inch of residue remaining
on the bottom and fuel tanks.
Specifically excluded from the definition of construction and demolition debris is
solid waste (including what otherwise would be construction and demolition
debris) resulting from any processing technique, other than that employed at a
department-approved C&D debris processing facility, that renders individual
waste components unrecognizable, such as pulverizing or shredding. Also, waste
contained in an illegal disposal site may be considered C&D debris if the
department determines that such waste is similar in nature and content to C&D
debris