Some background...
 Many unused and unwanted consumer products are classified as hazardous waste in
California
 Hazardous waste, including HHW, is banned from solid waste landfills in this state
 As of 2006, households may no longer dispose of batteries, lamps and electronic devices in the trash
 That’s good for public health and the environment, but...

The problem
 UW and Latex paint some of the largest volume wastes @ HHWCFs
 Are (or are presumed be) hazardous wastes
 Costly to handle, transport, and dispose/recycle

 Julia Au of SF Environment recently surveyed
30 HHWCPs about paint
 During their reporting year, respondents collected 1.45 million gallons of paint at a cost of nearly $9.6 million
(Average cost per gallon = $ 7.06)
 This represents, on average, 50.7 percent of the respondents’ total waste volume and 38.9 percent of their total cost

 Paint, batteries, lamps, and electronics don’t have to be collected at the HHWCF
 Retail take-back is very feasible
 Simple options for authorization

 Universal waste: exempt, pursuant to
66261.9 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations
 Recyclable latex paint: exempt, pursuant to section 25217.2 (a) of the California
Health and Safety Code (“Recyclable latex paint may be accepted at any location if all of the following conditions are met...”)

 Convenient for households
 Frees up the resources of local HHW collection programs for higher-hazard wastes
 Quantity limits for CESQG don’t apply

 Currently, only a few State mandates for retail take-back in California:
 Rechargeable batteries
 Cell phones
 Mercury thermostats

How are these mandatory take back laws working?
 Rechargeable batteries:
 2007: 4.2 million pounds
 2008: 5.6 million pounds
 Cell phones: estimate 25 percent recycling rate

Other proposed EPR legislation...
 California Product Stewardship Act
– AB 283 (Chesboro): 2-year bill
 Architectural Paint Stewardship Program
– AB 1343 (Huffman): 2-year bill
 Residential Fluorescent Lamp Recycling
Program – AB 1173 (Huffman): vetoed by the Governor

Mandatory take-back in other jurisdictions
 Oregon : new paint law is the nation’s first state requirement
 Includes the cost of safely managing leftover paint in the purchase price of new paint
 Sets up an industry-led program to reduce paint waste, increase reuse and recycling, and safely dispose of unusable paint
 San Luis Obispo County: ordinances require paint, batteries, fluorescent lamps, and sharps be taken back

A partial solution: voluntary retail collection
 Retailers voluntarily taking back waste:
 Electronic devices
 Fluorescent lighting
 Paint

 Marketing to retailers
 They will have concerns about:
 Funding
 Safety/Liability
 Messes
 Space
 Illegal dumping/orphaned waste

Making retail take back more appealing to a retailer
 Things you can say to a retailer:
 Promotes foot traffic
 Good publicity
 Things you can do:
 Provide signage to the retailer
 Have your contractor pick it up the paint, UW

What is “recyclable latex paint?”
 Health and Safety Code section 25217:
“... any water-based latex paint, still in liquid form, that is transferred for the purposes of being recycled”
 If it’s not “recyclable,” it doesn’t meet the definition and the exemption allowing retail collection doesn’t apply

Is latex paint a hazardous waste?
 Latex paint is listed in Title 22 as presumed to be hazardous waste
 Most modern latex paints probably aren’t, but...
 The generator usually won’t know if his/her paint is or isn’t HW

What is universal waste?
 Common, widely generated
 By definition, universal wastes are hazardous wastes, but exempt from the usual rules
 Batteries
 Fluorescent and other HW lamps
 Electronic devices
 Mercury devices, including thermostats
 Aerosol cans

California Health and Safety Code
Chapter 6.5, Article 10.7

Collecting waste latex paint
 No disposal to land or water
 May be accepted and recycled at any location, provided it’s managed properly/safely
 If it turns out not to be recyclable, it’s considered generated as a waste at the retail site and must be managed accordingly (e.g., as hazardous waste)

Collecting waste latex paint
(2)
 The collection site (e.g., retailer) must comply with applicable requirements for a
Hazardous Materials Business Plan
(Health and Safety Code chapter 6.95)
 Check with your local CUPA
 No DTSC notification or reporting required

Transporting waste latex paint
 Use of a registered transporter is not required
 Manifest not required; bill of lading OK
 Must include required information
 3 year record retention requirement

California’s latex paint remanufacturing facilities
We have several...
 Amazon – Whittier
 E-Coat (division of Kelly-Moore) –
Sacramento
 Visions – McClellan

Where are they getting it?
How much do they recycle?
 Amazon Paint says:
 80 percent of paint they accept comes from HHW facilities
 On a weekly basis, they accept 10,000 gallons of paint

What do remanufacturing facilities do?
Recycled in 2 ways:
1.
Reprocessed into new paint
 Filtering
 Mixing with standard paint
 Adding pigments
 Adjusting pH
2.
Used as a cement additive

California Code of Regulations
Title 22, Chapter 23

 Batteries
 Mercury containing equipment
 Lamps
 Aerosol cans
 Electronic Devices
 Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs)
 CRT glass
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 A retailer that accepts universal waste
(batteries, lamps, electronics, etc.) generated off-site (e.g., from customers) is regulated as a universal waste handler
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 Prohibitions
 Personnel Training
 Notification
 Response to
Releases
 Waste
Management
 Offsite Shipments
 Tracking Shipments
 Labeling/Marking
 Accumulation Time
 Exports
Limits

Universal waste handlers: prohibitions
 As universal waste handlers, retail collectors are prohibited from:
 Disposing of,
 Diluting, or
 “Treating” universal waste.
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Universal waste handlers: notifications
 A handler that may accumulate more than 5,000 kg of universal waste at any one time must obtain either a California or a federal EPA ID# for each location
 A retailer that plans to accept electronic waste from the public must also notify
DTSC 30 days in advance
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Universal waste handlers: waste management
 In general, the handler must manage universal waste “in a way that prevents releases of any universal waste or component of a universal waste to the environment...”
 Accumulate lamps in a closed container
 Prevent breakage
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 Label each item or container with one the following phrases (as appropriate):
 “Universal Waste – Batteries”
 “Universal Waste – Lamps”
 “Universal Waste – Electronic Devices”
 Etc.
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Universal waste handlers: accumulation time limits
 A handler may accumulate universal waste for up to one year from the date it was received
 No exceptions 
 Must be able to demonstrate the length of time accumulated
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Universal waste handlers: personnel training
 Annual training is required for personnel who manage universal waste, or supervise them
 Includes any person who consolidates, sorts, treats, recycles, packages for transport, offers for transport, or physically relocates containers of universal waste
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Universal waste handlers: personnel training (2)
 Materials must be written (e.g., brochures, electronic mail, company letters, pamphlets, posters, etc.) and dated
 Must include:
 The types and hazards associated with the particular universal wastes
 Proper disposition of the waste
 Procedures for responding to releases of ewastes
 Three year record keeping requirement
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Universal waste handlers: response to releases
 A handler is required to:
 Immediately contain all releases of universal wastes and of their residues
 Determine whether any resulting material is a hazardous waste, and if so, manage it accordingly
 A handler may repackage leaking, broken, or otherwise damaged universal waste and manage it as universal waste
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Universal waste handlers: offsite shipments
 A handler may send or take universal waste only to:
 Another universal waste handler
 A destination facility
 A foreign destination
 If, for some reason, the shipment is rejected, the original handler can take it back or arrange for another destination
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Universal waste handlers:
 The handler is required to keep a record of each shipment sent or received
 Who it was shipped to/from
 How much of each type of universal waste
 When it was shipped or received
 The record can be in the form of a log, invoice, manifest, bill of lading or other shipping document
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Can a retail collection site be inspected?
 Yes, by DTSC and/or the local CUPA
 A retail collection site is an off-site facility
(i.e., it receives waste generated elsewhere)
 CUPAs have jurisdiction for generators and HMBP
 DTSC has jurisdiction over off-site hazardous waste facilities
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Take home on compliant retail collection programs
 The retailer who wants to collect universal waste and latex paint needs to:
 Know and understand the rules
 Develop policies to for compliance
 Commit the time and resources to ensure the polices are followed
 Keep required records
 Plan for the unexpected...

Help retailers have a successful compliant program
 Good for the retailer: foot traffic, community goodwill
 Good for the HHW program: diverts waste and cost
 Good for California’s environment: more convenient collection sites => less likely these wastes end up where they don’t belong

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