Many industries create hazardous waste during each workday. From health care to manufacturing to education, almost every industry you could think of produces some form of dangerous waste.
However, some industries produce a lot more than others, having a larger effect on the environment. Here’s a list of some of the top industries that make hazardous waste.
Chemical Industry
The first and most prolific producer of hazardous waste is the chemical industry. Producing dangerous and potentially hazardous chemicals on demand is the entire purpose of the chemical industry. It doesn’t just produce necessary hazardous materials for sale—a lot of its processes also create extra hazardous waste.
Metal Industry
Another industry that uses a lot of hazardous materials is the metalworking industry. Whether it’s the production or shaping of the metal, many processes in this industry require dangerous materials, which then turn into hazardous waste—so much so that most metalworking plants offer training on how to properly store hazardous waste on-site.
Leather Industry
The leather industry is another huge player in the production of hazardous waste. Quite a few of the leather-making processes, such as dyeing, use hazardous materials. This makes leather one of the top industries that make hazardous materials.
Auto Repair Industry
Repairing automobiles produces a lot of hazardous materials, too. Most of the waste comes from removing old liquids—almost all of which are dangerous to people—from vehicles; even the paint on the cars is bad for the environment and for people. The sheer number of cars that need work adds up quite quickly.
Paint Industry
The paint industry uses a lot of chemicals and heavy metals for manufacturing their paints. This creates a lot of waste that can cause great damage in lakes or freshwater sources. Luckily, most of the waste is recyclable with the right processes.
These are some of the industries that produce a lot of hazardous waste when performing their normal functions every day. However, companies that handle hazardous waste can usually quickly and safely process this waste before it damages the environment.
