The goal of EPA‘s universal waste rule (40 CFR 273) is to reduce the amount of hazardous waste items in the municipal solid waste wastestream and encourage recycling and proper disposal of certain common or widely generated hazardous wastes.
Wastes regulated under the universal waste rules include:
- Batteries
- Pesticides
- Thermostats
- Fluorescent and high-intensity discharge lamps
- Mercury-containing equipment (MCE)
EPA views the effect of the universal waste regulations as "easing the regulatory burden" on businesses that handle universal wastes because the universal waste rule includes provisions that "streamline" the hazardous waste requirements.
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Universal vs. Hazardous Waste Regulation
These are some of the most significant similarities and differences between hazardous waste and universal waste regulations:
- Destination facilities. As with hazardous waste, universal waste may only be brought to facilities that comply with all applicable hazardous waste permitting and management requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including most land disposal restriction (LDR) provisions at 40 CFR 268.
- Hazardous waste manifest. Universal waste generators, transporters, and destination facilities are not required to comply with the RCRA hazardous waste manifest rules.
- LDR provisions. Universal waste handlers and transporters must comply with the substantive requirements of the LDR provisions, but are exempt from the testing, tracking, and recordkeeping requirements of 40 CFR 268.7 and the storage prohibition of 50 CFR 268.50.
- Accumulation time. Handlers of universal waste can keep such wastes on-site for longer periods of time than generators of hazardous waste can keep hazardous waste on-site. Both small and large quantity handlers of universal waste can keep these wastes on-site for 1 year, whereas small quantity generators of hazardous waste and large quantity generators of hazardous waste are limited to on-site accumulation of hazardous waste for180 and 90 days, respectively.
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Definitions
Many industrial facilities generate some type of universal waste. These definitions can help identify any universal wastes in your facility:
Batteries (40 CFR 273.2 and 273.9). The regulations define a battery as "a device consisting of one or more electronically connected electrochemical cells that is designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy." Universal waste batteries include nickel cadmium and small sealed lead-acid batteries.
Pesticides (40 CFR 273.3 and 273.9). Pesticides are defined as any substance or mixture of substances either intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, other than animal drugs and feed regulated by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Pesticides that qualify as universal wastes may be either recalled pesticides or unused pesticides that are wastes.
MCE (40 CFR 273.4 and 273.9). EPA defines "mercury-containing equipment" as "a device or part of a device (including thermostats, but excluding batteries and lamps) that contains elemental mercury integral to its function." According to EPA commentary, the "integral to its function" language in the MCE definition is meant to rule out devices that contain mercury accidentally or devices that have been contaminated by an outside source of mercury.
Lamps (40 CFR 273.5 and 273.9). EPA defines "lamp" or "universal waste lamp" as "the bulb or tube portion of an electric lighting device. A lamp is specifically designed to produce radiant energy, most often in the ultraviolet, visible, and infra-red regions of the electromagnetic spectrum." Examples of lamps include, but are not limited to, fluorescent, high-intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps.
Tomorrow, accumulation time limits and tracking requirements for universal wastes.