The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule on recycling of hazardous waste will affect many manufacturing sectors, including metal fabricating. The rule goes into effect in July, and adds some regulatory hoops for companies who have been storing spent solvents on site--maybe with the thought of recycling them some indeterminate time in the future-- land filling them or incinerating them. However, the new rule does not affect the recycling of scrap metal. That has been subject to an exclusion from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, meaning it has never been considered a "hazardous secondary material," and can therefore be sent off for recycling with very few restrictions.
Going
forward, the same will not be true for solvents, spent oil and other substances
which are considered hazardous secondary materials, therefore also solid waste,
but are not subject to any exclusion. Regulatory rules are changing there.
Companies who want to continue to accumulate hazardous materials on site will
need to get state or federal permits. Those that send the materials offsite
will have to comply with new recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
The
EPA has been concerned for a decade about solvents and other hazardous
materials being land filled, and ending up creating a Superfund site. The
agency started a rulemaking all the way back in 2003, but got waylaid by
lawsuits, additional studies, and various rulemakings that went nowhere. In
2011, the EPA proposed ending its "transfer" exclusion, which had
been in place to shield many hazardous secondary materials from being defined
as solid waste. Many industrial sectors erupted in anger.
For
fabricators who do want to continue to accumulate wastes on site, the final
rule offers a new option called the Certified Recycling Facility option, which
comes with considerable recordkeeping, storage requirements, spill prevention,
financial assurance, worker training and notification requirements. Under the
new "Definition of Solid Waste" (DSW)
rule, manufacturers can register as a Certified Recycling Facility with
either the EPA or the state solid waste agency. Facilities who successfully
certify under the new rule can stockpile hazardous secondary materials such as
solvents and oil. While this option may be attractive to some, most facilities
may choose to avoid the regulatory commitments that come with being registered
as a Certified Recycling Facility, and opt for the “Generator Option” under the
new rule, according to Phillip Retallick, Senior Vice President, Compliance and
Regulatory Affairs, Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc. Retallick worked
for the EPA for 10 years, then as Director of the Delaware Solid and Hazardous
Waste Program before coming over to the private sector.
Author bio:
Mr. Barlas, a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C., covers topics inside the Beltway.
