This fact sheet provides highlights of the regulations and will assist you in completing the Application for EPA Identification Number, or MassDEP Registration Form, if you are a Very Small Quantity Generator and/or Small Quantity Generator of used oil.

Definition of a hazardous waste

Federal and state hazardous waste laws define waste as "hazardous" if it is ignitable (has a flash point of 140? F or less), corrosive (ph of less than 2.5 or greater than 12.5), reactive, or toxic (as determined by a laboratory test). Other wastes are listed by name in the regulations.

• Typical hazardous wastes from furniture manufacturing or finishing
• Ignitable wastes
• Stripping sludges
• Rags and other cleanup materials contaminated with paint, lacquer, solvent or sludge
• Spent dipping solutions, such as methylene chloride
• Nitrocellulose overspray and residue (gun cotton)
• Surplus or off-spec paints, lacquers, solvents
• Corrosive wastes
• Spent acid or alkaline baths

Some rinsewaters may also be hazardous and should not be put down the drain. No rinsewaters can be disposed down the drain to a septic system without a permit.

Highlights of the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Regulations [310 CMR 30.000]
As a generator of hazardous waste you can be liable for any clean-up costs resulting from mismanagement of your waste, at your location, while it is in transit or at the receiving facility. To comply with the regulations and to decrease your risks:

• Identify and count the volume of your hazardous waste
• Store each type of waste in a separate container
• Keep containers closed except to add or remove waste
• Label each container or tank with:
  HAZARDOUS WASTE
  THE NAME OF THE WASTE
  TYPE OF HAZARD
  Add the date accumulation began if you are not a Very Small Generator.
• Train your employees to handle hazardous wastes safely
• Report spills of hazardous waste and hazardous materials to DEP

• Ship your waste with a licensed hazardous waste transporter (If you qualify as a Very Small Quantity Generator, you may be able to bring your waste to a community hazardous waste collection.)
• Keep records of where it goes for at least 3 years

Your generator "status" is determined by the amount of hazardous waste you generate in a month's time:

Consult the Summary of Requirements for Small Quantity Generators for more details.

Completing the Application for EPA Identification Number:

Important Contacts

MassDEP offers compliance assistance on the Web and by phone (617-292-5898).  

If your shop is on a septic system, contact the MassDEP industrial wastewater program at 617-292-5503 for information about holding tanks and containers.

To report a spill of oil or hazardous material, call the 24-hour MassDEP Emergency Response hotline at 888-304-1133.