Business Changes May Result in More Hazardous Waste Regulatory Requirements
Many businesses generate hazardous waste as a result of the manufacturing process or services they provide. Some businesses generate hazardous waste due to a one-time event or an infrequent activity ancillary to operations such as maintenance, repairs or a spill cleanup. A generator is any person who produces hazardous waste as listed or characterized in Part 261 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Due to the complexity and breadth of these hazardous waste regulations, many clients will retain vendors and consultants who assist with the proper assessment and characterization of hazardous waste.
Once the waste is characterized, the next step is determining the generator category. The category is based on the amount of any hazardous waste generated in a month -- not the average over the year and not by waste stream or the quantity shipped. For example, it only takes accumulating about half of a 55-gallon drum of liquid hazardous waste within any one month for a business to become subject to the regulatory requirements of a VSQG-or very small quantity generator.
There are three categories of hazardous waste generators:
VSQG - very small quantity generators: 100 kg or less hazardous in a month; 1 kg or less acute hazardous in a month
SQG - small quantity generators: more than 100 kg hazardous in a month
LQG - large quantity generators: more than 1000 kg hazardous in a month; more than 1 kg acute hazardous in any month
Avoiding waste noncompliance issues requires business to manage and track both the type and volume of hazardous waste generated. Subtle operational changes or a one-time event may result in additional regulatory requirements. While all the generator categories have regulatory requirements, the required compliance tasks and management efforts substantially increase with increases in waste volume. With readily accessible business records such as materials used and material safety data sheets, as well as the “cradle to grave” paperwork tracking of hazardous waste, waste violations are often easy to discover when an agency observes waste handling during the inspection walk-through and then reviews the related files.