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TEXAS IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
OF HAZARDOUS WASTE, 1987 - 1999
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Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Trends in Texas
Hazardous Waste Management Based on 1999 Data (2002), Figure 7.
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Only 1.3 percent of hazardous waste in Texas was treated off site in 1999. That year, 451,200 tons of
Texas-generated hazardous waste were treated at commercial facilities; 216,900 tons were sent out of state to commercial facilities; and another 169,300
tons went to other "captive" facilities owned by the same company either in Texas or in other states.*
Some 11,249,100 tons of hazardous wastewaters were sent to Publicly Owned Treatment Works -- wastewater treatement plants.*
In addition, Texas commercial facilities also imported more than 16,000 tons of nonhazardous Class I
industrial waste, while exporting almost 60,000 tons of Class nonhazardous wastes, mainly to landfill facilities.*
In 1991 Texas became a net importer of hazardous waste—importing more waste than it exported. This
trend continued in 1999. While Texas generators exported some 258,100 tons to out-of-state commercial or captive facilities, while Texas commercial and
noncommercial facilities received 270,600 tons of hazardous waste.* About 25 percent of the imported hazardous
waste -- 56,714 tons went to commercial deep-well injection facilities-- while more than 75,000 tons went to
incineration facilities or cement kilns for burning, or to fuel blending facilities for later incineration. Most of the exported
hazardous waste went to landfills (41,700 tons), cement kilns or other "energy recovery" facilities (34,691) or
zinc-recovery plants (34,691). Most of the exports went to Lousiana (30%), Arizona (19%), Arkansas (16%) or Mexico
(13%), while most of the imports came from Louisiana (29 %), Alabama (10%) and California (8%).* Shipments of hazardous wastes between the U.S. and Mexico are of special concern to government officials and citizens alike.
Capacity To Treat Industrial Wastes
While it is difficult to estimate whether companies will reduce or increase their generation of hazardous and
non-hazardous industrial waste -- which is impacted by production, the economy and technology -- there appears to
be no shortage of available disposal space in Texas for Class I industrial wastes.* Both landfills and underground
injection wells had enough capacity to handle the estimated generation of Class 1 waste in 2000, and were expected to
be able to handle future generation in 2004, assuming that permitted, but as yet unconstructed cells at existing permitted landfills would be build to handle future demand*. The issue is more complex for hazardous wastes. The
TCEQ estimated that there would be sufficient capacity at existing facilities to manage Texas hazardous wastes in the
year 2004 in most categories, including metals recovery, solvent recovery, incineration, energy recovery (cement kiln
incineration), sludge treatment, stabilization and encapsulation, deep well injection, fuel blending, landfills and for most aqueous organic and inorganic treatment technologies.*
However, TCEQ estimated that Texas does not have enough commercial capacity to manage the demand for the
following seven categories of technology:*
- zinc recovery;
- catalyst recovery;
- industrial furnace metals recovery;
- other recovery;
- land treatment
- reduction and other treatment for aqueous inorganic wastes; and
- destruction technologies, such as reduction and neutralization of inorganic compounds, biological treatment, and
carbon adsorption, among others.
Nevertheless, in nearly all cases, the demand for these types of waste management technology is relatively low and
can be met by other states or countries. The one category with a high demand -- Zinc Recovery -- For example, Texas
facilities have been sending their zinc wastes to a zinc-recovery facility in Monterrey, Mexico, for many years. In 1999,
Texas facilities sent approximately 35,000 tons of zinc-laden waste to Mexico for treatment there.*
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PERCENT OF TOTAL HAZARDOUS WASTE
IMPORTS TO TEXAS AND EXPORTS OF
TEXAS-GENERATED WASTE SOURCE OR DESTINATION
BY STATE, 1999
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Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Trends in
Texas Hazardous Waste Management Based on 1999 Data (2002), Section 2.
Note: Does not include waste sent to "captive" facilities. Thus,
totals represent percentage of total hazardous waste either sent to out-of-state commercial facilities or out-of-state waste received by Texas commercial
facilities. Total imports in 1999 were 206,393 tons, and total exports were 216,900 tons.
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