Options for Grays Harbor County’s Small Generators of Hazardous Waste

Your Regulatory Status Under the Dangerous Waste Regulations

Contents
How Do I Know If I Generate Dangerous Waste?
How Much Waste Can I Generate?
How Much Waste Can I Keep On-site?
How Does Ecology Regulate Small Quantity Generators?
Best Management Practices For Small Quantity Generators
Special Help For Small Quantity Generators

The Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC, use the term Small Quantity Generator to describe individuals and businesses that generate and/or accumulate dangerous waste in small amounts. These generators are conditionally exempt from many state regulatory requirements.

The information on this page offers an overview of the standards that apply to small quantity generators. It also lists resources that can offer help. Small quantity generators in Grays Harbor County can call The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility for technical assistance and to make appointments for disposal.

How Do I Know If I Generate Dangerous Waste?
Many wastes contain certain chemicals or have properties that make them dangerous to human health and the environment. The Dangerous Waste Regulations describe a process called “designation” that determines whether a waste is dangerous or not. Wastes are categorized based on the characteristics or criteria they exhibit.
For example, a waste could have the characteristic of being corrosive, meaning that it eats through metal and skin. This property makes the waste designate as hazardous. Another example is that a waste could contain a certain level of heavy metal – such as lead – that makes the waste designate because it meets the criteria for toxicity. Products such as some batteries and cleaners used by businesses can also designate as dangerous waste when discarded.
Ecology publishes more detailed information on how to designate a waste. The titles of these documents appear at the beginning of this page.

How Much Waste Can I Generate?
A small quantity generator can generate up to 220 pounds of dangerous waste, or up to 2.2 pounds of certain pesticides or poisons each month or per batch. You may generate waste in many ways.

	When you take the waste product of a process and put it in a container for disposal.
	When you decide a chemical product is no longer usable.
	When you clean up a spilled chemical product.
	When you clean equipment with a chemical-based cleaner.

How Much Waste Can I Keep On-Site?
Small quantity generators can accumulate up to 2,200 pounds of dangerous waste, or 2.2 pounds of certain pesticides or poisons, at their site before sending the waste off-site for proper disposal or recycling.
Grays Harbor County and the Department of Ecology recommend that generators follow the Best Management Practices listed on this page to ensure safe management of their dangerous waste.

How Does Ecology Regulate Small Quantity Generators?
In Washington, the Dangerous Waste Regulations spell out the rules that apply to dangerous waste generators. The rules identify generators as small, medium or large quantity generators depending upon the amount of waste they generate in each month or batch and the amount of waste they accumulate on-site. Generators must comply with more stringent requirements when they generate or accumulate larger amounts of dangerous waste.
Small quantity generators are exempt from most of the state and federal regulations if they stay within the generation and accumulation limits described above, and if they do the following:

	Determine if their waste is a dangerous waste (“designation”).
	Manage their waste in a way that does not pose a threat to human health or the environment.
	Treat or dispose of their waste in an on-site facility or ensure that the waste is delivered to a permitted treatment, storage and disposal facility, to a legitimate recycler, or to a county moderate risk waste facility (Grays Harbor County’s Hazardous Waste Collection Facility).

Best Management Practices For Small Quantity Generators
The guidelines listed below suggest the best ways for small quantity generators to manage their waste to protect human health and the environment.

	Keep wastes in containers that are in good condition.
	Make sure that labels identify the contents of the container and list any major risks the waste posses to employees, emergency response personnel and the public.
	Avoid spills by keeping containers closed except when adding or removing waste.
	Maintain containers so they do not rupture or tip over when being opened, handled or stored.
	Use secondary containment for containers of liquid waste. · Keep volumes of accumulated waste low by properly recycling and routinely disposing of waste.
	Inspect storage areas frequently.
	Investigate using alternatives, less hazardous products.

Information on this page was provided by the Department of Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program.