Introduction to Activated Carbon
The shape of activated carbon varies, usually in the form of black powder or block, granular, or honeycomb. It itself does not have any danger, so the discarded pure activated carbon does not belong to hazardous waste. However, activated carbon is widely used in various fields such as wastewater treatment, waste gas treatment, food, and pharmaceutical industries due to its large specific surface area and strong adsorption capacity. So the question is, does the used waste activated carbon belong to solid waste or hazardous waste?

Does waste activated carbon belong to general solid waste or hazardous waste?
1. The National Catalogue of Hazardous Wastes (2021 Edition) clearly stipulates that the categories of waste activated carbon include HW02 pharmaceutical waste, HW04 pesticide waste, HW05 wood preservative waste, HW06 waste organic solvents and organic solvent waste, HW08 waste mineral oil and mineral oil waste, HW12 dye and coating waste, HW13 organic resin waste, HW37 organic phosphorus compound waste, HW38 organic cyanide waste, HW39 phenolic waste HW45 contains organic halide waste, HW49 contains other waste, and these categories of waste activated carbon belong to hazardous waste.
2. If the substance adsorbed by activated carbon belongs to hazardous waste, then waste activated carbon belongs to hazardous waste.
3. In the food industry, if food grade materials are used in this environment, it can be basically determined that the adsorbed components should be harmless and can be theoretically considered as general solid waste.
summary
Waste activated carbon may not necessarily be hazardous waste, as determined by the environmental impact assessment or identification report.