THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) IS ADDING AEROSOL CANS TO THE UNIVERSAL WASTE PROGRAM UNDER THE FEDERAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT (RCRA) REGULATIONS
The EPA has now added aerosols to the universal waste regulations and businesses are now able to utilizes our standard Universal Waste Bill of Lading to ship their aerosols.
Aerosol cans are those handy little pressure-powered buddies we use for everything from spray paint and bug repellent to whipped cream and hair products. In fact, they’re everywhere—the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) estimates that Americans filled about 3.75 billion of them back in 2016. That’s a whole lot of spraying!
Because they’re so common, especially in big retail stores, aerosol cans can really pile up once they’re empty or tossed out. At large retailers, they can make up almost 40% of the items that get treated as hazardous waste.
Most aerosol cans are actually made of recyclable steel or aluminum—in fact, aerosol cans are often one of the highest-quality metal items in the recycling stream. So when you finish that can of whipped cream, recycling it is like giving it a chance at a glamorous second life… possibly as a bicycle, a frying pan, or even another aerosol can!
Aerosols are chemical products, such as paint, solvent, or cleaner, released as a spray or stream from a pressurized container. A waste aerosol is an aerosol container that will no longer be used for its intended purpose.
Spray Paints
Air Fresheners
Spray Foam Insulation
Oven Cleaners
Insecticide Sprays
Spray lubricants
And many more…
Aerosols are shipped to our Licensed Universal Waste Collection Facility in Little Canada, MN for additional sorting/processing. Waste aerosols are then shipped to our partner disposal facility where they are fully drained. Finally, the drained liquids and gases are blended into fuel or incinerated and the empty cans are recycled as scrap metal. In essence this process is converting the waste into heat energy.
Take a peek at the final rule in the Federal Register