Clean Harbors Offers Insights into Proposed USEPA Solid Waste Rules


NORWELL, MA - December 15, 2011 - Clean Harbors, North America's leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services, is offering a management briefing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed changes to its solid waste rules and their potential outcome and effects on the chemical, chemical specialty and petrochemical industries.

Part of the company's chemical services information campaign, the briefing addresses potential changes to recycling and remanufacturing of hazardous secondary materials that are regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The proposed changes could significantly impact hazardous materials recycling and remanufacturing in the chemical, chemical specialty and petrochemical industries.

Entitled "A Discussion of the Proposed USEPA Solid Waste Rules," the management briefing is co-authored by Phil Retallick, Clean Harbors Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Scott Kuhn, Clean Harbors Vice President, Corporate Environmental Compliance. It offers a short history of RCRA and the evolution of the USEPA's Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule. It goes on to discuss generator controlled exclusions and what the USEPA refers to as "legitimacy factors" that will now apply to a significantly expanded list of recycling exclusions and exceptions.

The briefing also defines and discusses remanufacturing of solvents for use in the pharmaceutical, organic chemical, plastics and resins, or the paint and coatings sectors, and lists the 18 specific solvents that qualify for remanufacturing.

The briefing concludes with insights into some of the potential impacts on chemical, chemical specialty and petrochemical hazardous waste generators.

"The proposed DSW Regulation is still a moving target and we have been monitoring developments carefully because these proposed changes to the RCRA Definition of Solid Waste could fundamentally change industry waste management practices," said Retallick. "Chemical, chemical specialty and petrochemical production managers will want to better understand the positive and negative implications of the DSW Rulemaking Proposal and how this significant rulemaking could affect their operations. This briefing gives a concise overview of the proposal and offers links to several USEPA resources."

The management briefing is available at: www.cleanharbors.com/regulatory-brief.

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors is the leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America. The Company serves over 50,000 customers, including a majority of the Fortune 500 companies, thousands of smaller private entities and numerous federal, state, provincial and local governmental agencies. Headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, Clean Harbors has more than 175 locations, including over 50 waste management facilities, throughout North America in 37 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Company also operates international locations in Bulgaria, China, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com.

All Topics