EPA Adds Aerosol Cans to Universal Waste Regs

SEATTLE (Waste 360): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding hazardous waste aerosol cans to the universal waste program under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations.

“This change will benefit the wide variety of establishments generating and managing hazardous waste aerosol cans, including the retail sector, by providing a clear, protective system for managing discarded aerosol cans,” said EPA in a December 9 final ruling in the Federal Register. “The streamlined universal waste regulations are expected to ease regulatory burdens on retail stores and others that discard hazardous waste aerosol cans; promote the collection and recycling of these cans; and encourage the development of municipal and commercial programs to reduce the quantity of these wastes going to municipal solid waste landfills or combustors.”

The final rule is effective on February 7, 2020, and will affect those who generate, transport, treat, recycle or dispose of hazardous waste aerosol cans, unless those persons are households or very small quantity generators (VSQGs). Entities potentially affected by this action include more than 25,000 industrial facilities in 20 different industries at the two-digit North American Industry Classification System code level. An estimated 7,483 of these facilities are large quantity generators (LQG). The two top economic sectors with the largest percentage of potentially affected entities are the retail trade industry, representing 69 percent of the affected LQG universe, and manufacturing, representing 17 percent of the affected LQG universe.

On March 16, 2018, EPA published the proposal to add aerosol cans to the federal universal waste program. EPA said its proposal recognized that inclusion of this common waste stream as universal waste could better ensure that aerosol cans are managed appropriately at the end of their lives, remove these wastes from the municipal waste stream, potentially encourage recycling and reduce unnecessary burden for generators.

In addition to the universal waste management standards that apply to all universal waste handlers, such as labeling and marking, accumulation time limits, employee training, responses to releases, export requirements and, for large quantity handlers of universal waste, notification and tracking, EPA proposed specific standards that relate to the puncturing and draining of aerosol cans.

EPA proposed that puncturing and draining of aerosol cans be conducted by a commercial device specifically designed to safely puncture aerosol cans and effectively contain the residual contents as well as any emissions from the puncturing and draining activities. In addition, EPA proposed that handlers establish written procedures for safely puncturing and draining universal waste aerosol cans and ensure that employees operating the device be trained in the proper procedures. EPA proposed that puncturing of aerosol cans be done in a manner designed to prevent fires and releases and that any residuals from puncturing cans be transferred to a tank or container, at which point the handler must make a hazardous waste determination on the residuals. The proposal also included that written procedures be in place in the event of a spill or release, that a spill cleanup kit be provided and that any spills or leaks be cleaned up promptly.

In addition to these proposed standards, EPA analyzed the existing state universal waste programs that include aerosol cans. The agency requested comment on including further limitations on puncturing and draining of cans that might contain materials that pose an incompatibility hazard with other materials or establishing further limits on which types of handlers are allowed to puncture and drain aerosol cans.

Courtesy: www.waste360.com