Which of the following is NOT a characteristic used to identify hazardous waste?

The correct response identifies biodegradability as not being a characteristic used to identify hazardous waste. The criteria for defining hazardous waste under regulations such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) focus on specific properties of waste materials that pose risks to human health and the environment.

Ignitability, corrosivity, and toxicity are all established characteristics used to classify a waste as hazardous. Ignitability refers to the ability of a waste to catch fire under certain conditions, corrosivity pertains to materials that can corrode metal containers or cause severe skin burns, and toxicity involves the potential of waste to release harmful substances when disposed of or managed improperly.

Biodegradability, on the other hand, describes the capacity of a substance to decompose naturally by biological processes. While biodegradability is an important environmental consideration, it does not serve as a means to identify hazardous waste because it does not inherently reflect the potential harmful effects of a material or its ability to harm health. Therefore, it is not included within the specific hazardous waste characteristics recognized by regulatory agencies.