On March 5 2018 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule that would add hazardous waste aerosol cans to the category of universal wastes regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In its proposal, the EPA stated that adding aerosol cans to the universal waste rule would simplify the handling and disposal of the waste for generators and ensure that aerosol cans are sent to the appropriate facilities, where they would be managed as hazardous waste in line with all applicable Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements.
The EPA expects that this will result in an increase in the number of aerosol cans diverted from the non-hazardous waste stream into the hazardous waste stream, as it would allow generators (especially those that generate this waste sporadically) to send them to a central consolidation point. Further, because the proposed rule allows universal waste to be consolidated into a larger shipment for transport to a destination facility, the EPA believes that it would be more economical for generators to send hazardous waste aerosol cans to recycling for the recovery of metal values, rather than sending them for disposal.
For further information on this topic please contact Samuel B Boxerman or Jim Wedeking at Sidley Austin LLP by telephone (+1 202 736 8000) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Sidley Austin LLP website can be accessed at www.sidley.com.
