WASHINGTON—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has modified the hazardous waste management regulations governing the use of solvent-contaminated wipes, a decision that garnered the approval of the Textile Rental Services Association of America.
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the EPA has excluded the wipes from the agency's hazardous waste regulations — with the caveat that businesses clean or dispose of wipes properly.
This comes, according to the Automotive Service Association (ASA), as the EPA's final risk analysis, published in 2009, concluded wipes possessing certain hazardous solvents do not pose significant risk to human health and the environment if properly managed.
The EPA noted that wipes are used in conjunction with solvents for cleaning and other purposes by more than 90,000 facilities in numerous industry sectors, including automobile repair and maintenance shops.
"Today's rule uses the latest science to provide a regulatory framework for managing solvent-contaminated wipes that is appropriate to the level of risk posed by these materials...," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
"I've heard directly from stakeholders about the benefits of this rule and the need to finalize it. The rule reduces costs for thousands of businesses, many of which are small businesses, while maintaining protection of human health and the environment."
Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
The EPA defines a solvent-contaminated wipe as:
"…a wipe (i.e., a shop towel, rag, pad, or swab made of wood pulp, fabric, cotton, polyester blends, or other material) that after use or after cleaning up a spill, contains a solvent that would be considered hazardous waste either because it is listed in the hazardous waste regulations, or because it exhibits the characteristic of ignitability. Solvent-contaminated wipes do not include wipes contaminated with hazardous waste other than solvents, or that exhibit the characteristic of toxicity, corrosivity, or reactivity due to contaminants other than solvents."
The ASA said the ruling excludes only wipes that are contaminated with solvents listed as hazardous wastes under the RCRA that are properly cleaned or disposed of. To be excluded, solvent-contaminated wipes must be managed in closed, labeled containers and cannot contain free liquids when sent for cleaning or disposal.
Additionally, facilities that generate solvent-contaminated wipes must comply with certain recordkeeping requirements and may not accumulate wipes for longer than 180 days, the ASA said.
The EPA first proposed modified regulations for solvent-contaminated wipes in November 2003 and published a revised risk assessment for public comment Oct. 27, 2009.
The agency also said this ruling is its final response to rulemaking petitions by Kimberley-Clark Corp. and Scott Paper Co.
The EPA estimates that this rule change will result in a net savings of between $21.7 million and $27.8 million per year — $18 million in avoided regulatory costs and between $3.7 million and $9.9 million in other expected benefits.
The TRSA, which has been vocal the past several years defending the towel rental concept, endorsed the EPA's ruling, saying:
"The rule codifies TRSA's best practices for soiled reusable textile handling, published 20 years ago, which eliminate free liquid from being transported with shop towels and other laundered products sent to textile services facilities for washing and reuse," the association said, adding it "views the measure's implementation aligning with other EPA activities in recent years that recognize TRSA members' commitment to environmental stewardship."
The final rule modifies the definition of solid waste in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to conditionally exclude solvent-contaminated wipes that are cleaned and reused, according to the TRSA. It also revises the definition of hazardous waste to exclude shop towels contaminated with solvents listed as hazardous wastes under RCRA, provided that the solvents are cleaned and disposed of properly.
Commercial laundries handle, wash and return clean wipes to their customers as part of the industrial laundry business.
"Reusable textile products reduce waste and protect workers," said Kevin Schwalb, vice president of government relations. "Implementing this rule acknowledges these contributions and that these items play an important role in waste minimization in a variety of industries across the economy."
The TRSA represents the $16 billion U.S. textile services industry, which employs nearly 200,000 workers at more than 1,500 facilities nationwide.
Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].