If your business operation produces waste, you'll need a way to remove it from your facility and dispose of it safely. If your business generates hazardous waste, the process gets a little trickier, with more requirements to meet and steps to follow. Every year, the United States produces 20 to 29 million tons of hazardous waste, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data from 2001 to 2017. Properly transporting and disposing of those tremendous volumes of refuse is critical for public health and safety.

Fortunately, you likely have several good options for transporting your waste securely and ethically. Below, we'll walk you through the process. 

What is hazardous waste? The EPA defines hazardous waste as any waste that can harm human health or the environment. It can come from many sources and range from industrial manufacturing process wastes to seemingly innocuous items like batteries. Acutely hazardous waste poses an even more substantial threat, such as nitroglycerin or cyanides. 

Hazardous waste often comes in one of two forms: liquid or characteristic waste. Liquid waste may be process water from manufacturing operations or substances like used paints, solvents and pesticides. On the other hand, characteristic waste typically exhibits one of four properties: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity. Here are those properties in more detail:

What are some examples of hazardous waste? Lithium-ion or mercury-containing batteries, chemical wastes, paints and solvents, cleaning fluids, pharmaceutical waste, petroleum processing byproducts and sludges from particular wastewater treatment processes, among many others, can all be examples of hazardous waste.

Does your business produce hazardous waste? It might if it falls into one of the categories below. The following is a list of several common industrial operations and a description of the hazardous wastes they frequently generate.

Construction activities like carpentry, floor work, heavy construction, demolition, wrecking, paint preparation and painting often produce hazardous waste. So does cleaning and maintaining construction equipment.These wastes may be paint wastes, ignitable wastes, solvent wastes, toxic wastes and used oils, acids and bases.

Commercial dry-cleaning and laundry processes tend to generate hazardous wastes in the form of spent solvents, powder residues, spent filter cartridges, residues from solvent distillation and unused perchloroethylene — the colorless liquid used for dry-cleaning fabrics.

Repair operations such as brush cleaning, degreasing, equipment cleaning, paint preparation, painting, paint removal, rust removal and spray booth and spray gun operations often generate hazardous waste. 

Laboratory testing procedures produce hazardous waste in the form of contaminated materials, reaction products, spent solvents, testing samples and unused reagents. The hazardous wastes are often chemical or biological. 

Leather manufacturing processes such as hair removal, bating, soaking, batting, buffing and dying all produce hazardous byproducts. These hazardous wastes are often acids and bases, ignitable wastes, solvent wastes, toxic wastes and unused chemicals. 

Pesticide application and cleanup generate hazardous wastes like contaminated rinsewater, contaminated soil, empty containers, ignitable waste, solvent wastes and used and unused pesticides.

Photo lab activities like developing negatives and cleaning stabilization systems generate hazardous wastes. These wastes are generally acid regenerants, cleaners, ignitable wastes and spent silver.

Printing processes such as plate preparation, stencil preparation, printing, photo processing and cleanup all produce hazardous wastes. These are generally acids and bases, heavy metal wastes, ink, solvents, toxic wastes and unused chemicals. 

Auto and machinery shops generate hazardous wastes through brush cleaning, degreasing, installation of lead-acid batteries, oil and fluid replacement, paint preparation, painting, paint removal, rust removal, spray booth and spray gun operation and tank cleanouts. The generated wastes usually take the form of acids, bases, batteries, ignitable wastes, paint wastes, solvents, toxic wastes, used oil and unused cleaning chemicals. 

Shop processes like automobile body and engine repair, graphic arts-plate preparation, metalworking and woodworking generate hazardous wastes. The wastes often take the form of acids and bases, ignitable wastes, paint wastes and solvent wastes. 

Facilities that manufacture furniture and other wood products produce hazardous wastes through brush cleaning, finishing, refinishing, painting, spray brush cleaning, stripping, staining, wood cleaning and wax removal. The wastes are generally ignitable or toxic paint wastes and solvent wastes.

If your business falls into one of these categories or a similar one, figuring out how to manage hazardous waste safely and reliably may seem like a challenge at first. Fortunately, both managing waste on-site and shipping it off-site for disposal become easier once you know the basics, especially if you seek professional guidance. 

How can you best manage hazardous waste on your facility's site? Let's break the process down into a few different components:

Accumulating on-site hazardous waste poses risks to the environment and nearby residents. Therefore, you'll need to handle waste accumulation responsibly and store it safely.

Most businesses accumulate waste for only a brief period before sending it to a certified disposal facility. Before shipping the waste, your company is responsible for all aspects of its safe management, including secure storage, safe treatment, adequate accident prevention and effective emergency response. 

How long can hazardous waste stay on-site, and how much can facilities safely accumulate? The answer varies. The EPA breaks waste-generating facilities down into three categories: large-quantity generators (LQGs), small-quantity generators (SQGs) and very-small-quantity generators (VSQGs). Here's a closer look at what those three categories entail:

You will need to treat your hazardous waste to meet the land disposal restrictions (LDRs) governing your facility. Treating waste to these standards generally involves reducing concentrations of hazardous substances to the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) set by the EPA. 

Many waste generators have their designated disposal companies treat their waste for them. If your facility chooses to do it on-site, be sure to follow the necessary procedures. Obtain the appropriate certifications, develop thorough waste analysis plans and deliver the proper notifications when your facility disposes of waste. 

Preventing waste-handling mishaps is critical for keeping people and the environment safe. Your facility will need to minimize the potential risks of explosions, fires, spills and other accidents. Taking the following recommended steps can help:

If an emergency occurs despite your best efforts, knowing how to handle it can make a tremendous difference in the outcome. The EPA does not require waste-generating facilities to develop formal emergency response plans, but having a response strategy in place can help you control emergencies more efficiently. At the minimum, you should craft basic safety guidelines and train your employees on the proper response procedures to follow if an emergency occurs. 

If you plan to ship your hazardous waste to an off-site disposal facility, what is the best way to do it? Below are a few steps you'll need to take:

The first thing to do is to choose a reputable, environmentally conscious facility to treat, store and dispose of your company's hazardous waste. In making your selection, you'll want to look into the facility's permits and certifications. Most disposal companies must have either a state or an EPA permit. Some operate lawfully under regulations that do not require a permit, so check with your local authorities to see what the rules are in your area. 

How is toxic waste disposed of off-site? Most disposal companies have dedicated facilities that can treat toxic waste and render it less harmful. They then send the treated components to specially lined landfills for safe disposal. 

When you're preparing waste shipments, be sure to package and label them appropriately. Contact the Department of Transportation (DOT) or your state's waste management authority if you need assistance with figuring out these requirements. You'll also need to prepare the correct Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest, which both the DOT and EPA require. This manifest contains multiple parts and should include information about the type and amount of the waste, instructions for handling the waste and the signatures of all partners involved in its treatment, storage or disposal. 

Abiding by land disposal restrictions is vital for environmental and health protection, and you'll need to report your hazardous waste disposals to ensure you're compliant. Send your disposal facility a notice of the intended waste shipment and include an LDR notice that contains the LDR treatment standard and EPA hazardous waste code. You may also be required to provide certification in some instances.

If you plan to export your waste, you must obtain permission from the EPA by providing written notice 60 days before the intended shipment date. You will receive an "Acknowledgement of Consent" form that must travel with the shipment at all times. 

If you close your facility, make sure you have removed all hazardous waste from your waste tanks, discharge confinement structures and discharge-control equipment. You must also clean up any contaminated sites according to the applicable regulations. 

One of the easiest ways to manage hazardous waste is to decrease production of it. Here are a few steps you can take to minimize your waste generation and make the job of handling and transporting it more convenient:

To gain peace of mind by obtaining sustainable waste transportation services for your industrial facility, work with VLS Environmental Solutions. We offer a full suite of environmentally responsible waste transportation and disposal services. We can treat many waste streams in our dedicated facility before sending them to a certified landfill for safe, compliant disposal. 

Contact us today to schedule hazardous waste transportation or learn more about our services.