Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-R-04-028
Training Module
Introduction to
Universal Waste
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
September 2003
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DISCLAIMER
This document was developed by Booz Allen Hamilton under contract 68-W-01-020 to EPA.
It is intended to be used as a training tool for Call Center specialists and does not represent a
statement of EPA policy.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA s
regulations or policies. This document is used only in the capacity of the Call Center training and
is not used as a reference tool on Call Center calls. The Call Center revises and updates this
document as regulatory program areas change.
The information in this document may not necessarily reflect the current position of the Agency.
This document is not intended and cannot be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or
procedural, enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States.
RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA Call Center Phone Numbers:
National toll-free (outside of DC area) (800) 424-9346
Local number (within DC area) (703) 412-9810
National toll-free for the hearing impaired (TDD) (800) 553-7672
The Call Center is open from 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.
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UNIVERSAL WASTE
CONTENTS
1. Introduction 1
2. Regulatory Summary 2
2.1 Wastes Subject to the Universal Waste Program 2
2.2 Universal Waste Handlers 4
2.3 Transporters 7
2.4 Destination Facilities 7
2.5 State Authorization 7
3. The Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Act 9
4. Regulatory Developments 10
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Universal Waste - 1
1. INTRODUCTION
As mandated by Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), EPA
promulgated regulations governing the safe management of hazardous waste from the point of
generation until the point of final deposition. Within these regulations, EPA developed a
streamlined management program for certain hazardous wastes, known as universal wastes. The
universal waste program provides an alternative set of regulations that reduce the regulatory
burden by allowing longer storage of these wastes and reduced recordkeeping. Universal wastes
are:
generated in a wide variety of settings, not solely industrial,
generated by a vast community,
present in significant volumes in nonhazardous management systems.
This module describes the universal waste program, found in 40 CFR Part 273, and defines
which hazardous wastes may be handled under these streamlined regulations. When you have
completed this module, you will be able to:
recognize the wastestreams subject to the universal waste program,
identify the participants in the universal waste program,
understand the regulations for each type of participant,
understand the state authorization procedures,
understand the relationship of The Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery
Management Act (P.L. 104-142) to EPA's universal waste program.
Use this list of objectives to check your knowledge of universal waste after you complete the
training session.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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2 - Universal Waste
2. REGULATORY SUMMARY
Historically, the regulatory burden associated with recycling certain widely generated hazardous
wastes has discouraged smaller facilities from sending hazardous waste to recycling facilities.
Because they were often produced by households and conditionally exempt small quantity
generators (CESQGs), these hazardous wastes were commonly disposed in municipal solid
waste landfills (MSWLFs). As a result, EPA promulgated the universal waste regulations on
May 11, 1995 to ease the management burden and promote the collection and recycling of these
commonly generated wastes (60 FR 25492). EPA developed the streamlined universal waste
regulations in Part 273 with three goals:
to encourage resource conservation while ensuring adequate protection of human health
and the environment,
to improve implementation of the current Subtitle C hazardous waste regulatory program,
to provide incentives for individuals and organizations to collect the unregulated portions
of these universal wastestreams and manage them using the same systems developed for
the regulated portion, thus removing them from the municipal wastestream.
To accomplish these goals, EPA established standards in 1995 for three types of universal
wastes: batteries, pesticides, and thermostats. On July 6, 1999, EPA added hazardous waste
lamps to the federal list of universal wastes (64 FR 36466). Most recently, EPA proposed to add
mercury-containing equipment to the list of waste subject to the federal program (67 FR 40508;
June 12, 2002). The regulations also include management standards for four types of persons
managing universal waste: small quantity handlers of universal waste (SQFIUW), large quantity
handlers of universal waste (LQFIUW), universal waste transporters, and universal waste
destination facilities.
EPA's primary goal for the universal waste program is to encourage the recycling of batteries,
thermostats, pesticides, and lamps. However, handlers can send their waste for disposal and still
remain subject to the universal waste regulations.
The universal waste program is less stringent than full Subtitle C hazardous waste regulations.
Because authorized states may enforce regulations that are more stringent than the federal RCRA
program, the universal waste program is not automatically effective in states with their own
RCRA programs. However, once a state is authorized for universal waste, EPA allows states to
include additional universal wastes in their state programs. The following sections of this
module will describe the regulations for each category of universal waste and each type of
person managing universal waste, the state authorization process, and other special issues.
2.1 WASTES SUBJECT TO THE UNIVERSAL WASTE PROGRAM
The federal universal waste regulations include hazardous waste batteries, thermostats,
pesticides, and lamps. To be covered under the universal waste program, these items must first
be identified as hazardous waste. Items that still have product value and that are still being used
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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Universal Waste - 3
are not wastes and therefore are not subject to RCRA. In addition, wastes excluded from the
RCRA definition of solid or hazardous waste are not subject to the universal waste program.
Only material identified as a hazardous waste that meet the definition of battery, thermostat,
pesticide, or lamp in Part 273 can be managed under the universal waste regulations.
Currently, only these four wastes are covered under the federal program. There is, however, a
petition process in Part 273, Subpart G, which allows individuals, as well as states, to petition
EPA to add other wastestreams to the universal waste program. Universal wastes that are mixed
with hazardous wastes fully regulated as hazardous waste. However, mixtures of universal
waste and CESQG waste or household hazardous waste are subject to the universal waste
requirements since these hazardous wastes are not subject to full Subtitle C regulation.
The first wastestream covered under the universal waste program consists of hazardous waste
batteries. The universal waste regulations define a battery as a device consisting of one or more
electrically connected electrochemical cells that are designed to receive, store, and deliver
electrical energy (§273.6). Also included in this definition are unbroken batteries from which
the electrolyte has been removed. Hazardous waste batteries meeting this definition are subject
to the universal waste regulations. However, lead-acid batteries being recycled may be managed
either as universal waste or by Part 266, Subpart G, which contains special provisions for lead-
acid batteries. EPA does not have comprehensive data to make interpretations about whether
certain battery types are or are not hazardous, so it is the generator's responsibility to determine
if that battery is subject to regulation as a hazardous waste.
The second wastestream included in the universal waste program is comprised of certain
hazardous waste pesticides. Unused pesticides will often become banned from use, damaged by
temperature extremes, or no longer necessary due to crop changes. The universal waste
regulations apply to persons managing pesticides that are part of a recall program or unused
pesticides that are collected and managed as part of a waste pesticide collection program
(§273.3(a)). A recalled pesticide becomes a waste when two conditions occur: the generator
agrees to participate in the recall, and the person conducting the recall decides to discard the
pesticide or burn it for energy recovery. An unused pesticide becomes a waste on the date the
generator decides to discard it (§273.3(c)). Pesticides managed by farmers in accordance with
§262.70, which allows farmers to dispose waste pesticides on their own farm in accordance with
the disposal instructions on the pesticide label, are not subject to the universal waste regulations
(§273.3(b)).
The third wastestream regulated by the universal waste program includes mercury-containing
thermostats. Thermostats are temperature control devices that contain metallic mercury in an
ampule attached to a bi-metal sensing element and mercury-containing ampules that have been
removed from these devices (§273.9). The thermostat category only covers those wastestreams
that meet the thermostat definition.
Finally, the fourth wastestream covered by the universal waste program includes hazardous
waste lamps. Lamps often exhibit the toxicity characteristic (TC) for mercury or lead, making
them a characteristic hazardous waste when discarded. In 1994, EPA proposed two options for
lamp management (59 FR 38288; July 27, 1994), and in 1997; a study was conducted to evaluate
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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4 - Universal Waste
mercury emissions from discarded lamps. After responding to comments received on both
documents, EPA added hazardous waste lamps to the universal waste regulations. A universal
waste lamp is defined as the bulb or tube portion of an electric lighting device (§273.9).
Examples of common universal waste electric lamps include, but are not limited to, fluorescent,
high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps.
Several states added mercury lamps to their universal waste programs prior to the July 1999 final
rule. Therefore, this federal addition made the management requirements consistent with many
state programs. The approach also encourages the manufacture of low-mercury lamps in
industry.
2.2 UNIVERSAL WASTE HANDLERS
Universal waste handlers are people who generate or produce universal waste as well as people
who receive universal waste from other generators or handlers and consolidate it before sending
it to another handler, recycler, or treatment storage and disposal facility. Handlers accumulate
universal waste but do not treat, recycle, or dispose of the waste. The universal waste
regulations include requirements for two groups of handlers based on the amount of universal
waste accumulated on site at any one time:
SQHUW - accumulates less than 5,000 kilograms (kg) of all universal waste categories
LQHUW - accumulates 5,000 kg or greater of all universal waste categories
Regulations for SQHUWs are found in Part 273, Subpart B, while those for LQHUWs are found
in Part 273, Subpart C. Once a handler triggers the LQHUW status, he or she will remain a
LQHUW for the rest of the calendar year. However, the handler can re-evaluate his or her
handler status at the start of each calendar year.
Universal waste handlers are the members of the regulated community that benefit most from the
universal waste program. The reduced regulation, in comparison to the hazardous waste
generator regulations, makes it easier for them to store universal waste and send it to a recycling
facility. Table 1 provides a comparison between some of the universal waste handler
requirements and the hazardous waste generator requirements. All handlers of universal waste
are prohibited from disposing, diluting, or treating universal waste except under limited
circumstances as described in the regulations. SQHUWs are not required to notify EPA of their
universal management activities, while LQHUWs must notify EPA and obtain an EPA
identification number if they do not already have one. On-site waste accumulation is limited to
one year for both SQHUWs and LQHUWs. Employees at SQHUW facilities must be trained in
basic handling and emergency information, while those at LQHUW facilities must be trained
based on the employees' responsibilities in handling the universal waste. SQHUWs have no
recordkeeping requirements under the universal waste program. LQHUWs must maintain
records of all universal waste shipments received by and sent from the facility, although a
manifest is not required. These records may be in the form of invoices, manifests, or other
shipping papers. Transport of universal waste by both SQHUWs and LQHUWs is allowed, but
is subject to the universal waste transporter regulations in Part 273, Subpart D.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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Universal Waste - 5
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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6 - Universal Waste
Table 1. Universal Waste Handler and Hazardous Waste Generator Requirements
Quantity limit
EPA Identification
Number
On-site accumulation
limit
Storage time limit
Manifest
Personnel training
SQHUW
< 5,000 kg on site
§273.9
Not required
§273.12
< 5,000 kg
§273.9
1 year, unless for proper
recovery, treatment, or
disposal
§273.15
Not required
§273.19
Basic training
§273.16
LQHUW
> 5,000 kg on site
§273.9
Required
§273.32
No limit
1 year, unless for proper
recovery, treatment, or
disposal
§273.35
Not required, but must
keep basic shipping
records
§273.39
Basic training geared
toward employee
responsibilities
§273.36
CESQG
< 100 kg/month
< 1 kg acute/month
§261.5(a)and(e)
Not required
§261.5
< 1,000 kg
< 1 kg acute
< 100 kg spill residue
from acute
§§261.5(f)(2)&(g)(2)
None
§261.5
Not required
§261.5
Not required
§261.5
SQG
Between 100 and 1,000
kg/month
§262.34(d)
Required
§262.12
< 6,000 kg
§262.34(d)(l)
< 180 days or
< 270 days
§§262.34(d) & (e)
Required
§262.20
Basic training
§262.34(d)
LQG
> 1,000 kg/month
or > 1 kg acute/month
Part262and§261.5(e)
Required
§262.12
No limit
< 90 days
§262.34(a)
Required
§262.20
Full training
(as outlined in 265. 16)
§262.34(a)
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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Universal Waste - 7
2.3 TRANSPORTERS
Universal waste transporters are persons who move universal waste shipments from a handler to
another handler, a destination facility, or a foreign destination. Unlike the used oil regulations,
which allow generators to transport up to 55 gallons of their own used oil without being
considered a transporter, the universal waste transporter regulations apply to persons hauling any
amount of universal waste.
The universal waste transporter regulations can be found in Part 273, Subpart D. Transporters
are subject to the same prohibitions on disposal, dilution, and treatment as universal waste
handlers. Hazardous waste manifests are not required for universal waste shipments, but
transporters must comply with applicable Department of Transportation (DOT) shipping paper
requirements if the universal waste is defined as a hazardous material under DOT regulations.
Similar to hazardous waste transporters, persons who transport universal waste may store the
waste for up to 10 days at a transfer facility. Exceeding the 10-day limit requires compliance
with the applicable handler regulations.
2.4 DESTINATION FACILITIES
The final entity regulated under the universal waste program is the destination facility. These
facilities treat, dispose of, or recycle universal waste. Facilities that solely accumulate universal
waste are regulated under the handler requirements. As a result, a facility may be a handler for
one type of universal waste (e.g., batteries) and a destination facility for another type (e.g.,
pesticides). In general, a destination facility is subject to full hazardous waste regulation as a
treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF), including permitting, general facility standards,
and unit-specific standards (§273.60(a)). Destination facilities that recycle universal waste
without any prior storage are subject to regulation under §261.6(c)(2). Destination facilities are
required to retain records of all universal waste shipments received by and sent from the facility.
2.5 STATE AUTHORIZATION
The universal waste regulations are not automatically effective in states that are authorized for
the RCRA program because they provide less stringent management standards for hazardous
waste batteries, pesticides, thermostats, and lamps. As with other sections of the RCRA
regulations, states can apply for and become authorized to implement the universal waste
program. EPA encourages states to adopt and become authorized for the universal waste
regulations since these streamlined requirements encourage recycling of commonly generated
wastestreams. As of March 31, 2003, 46 states have adopted or have been authorized for the
universal waste regulations.
States that are applying for universal waste authorization or that have received universal waste
authorization may include additional wastes in their programs. In §273.81, EPA established
criteria that a wastestream should meet to be included as a universal waste. States should
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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! - Universal Waste
evaluate potential additional wastes in against these criteria. EPA reviews and approves a state
program based solely on the four wastes included in the federal program (i.e., batteries,
pesticides, thermostats, and lamps) and does not review state-only universal wastes.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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Universal Waste - 9
3. THE MERCURY-CONTAINING AND RECHARGEABLE BATTERY
ACT
The Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act (P.L. 104-142) was signed
into law by President Clinton on May 13, 1996. The two main goals of this Act are to decrease
mercury content in batteries and to increase voluntary recycling of batteries. Although this Act
does not amend RCRA directly, it makes the federal universal waste regulations effective in all
50 states for the collection, storage, and transportation of:
used rechargeable batteries,
lead-acid batteries not managed under Part 266, Subpart G,
certain mercury-containing batteries banned from domestic sale,
used consumer products containing rechargeable batteries that cannot be easily removed
States that have battery management standards are required to have programs identical to the
federal universal waste program for the management of these materials. Hazardous waste
batteries that meet the definition in this Act must be managed as universal waste.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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10 - Universal Waste
4. REGULATORY DEVELOPMENT
On June 12, 2002, EPA proposed to add mercury-containing equipment to the wastes subject to
the federal universal waste program (67 FR 40508). Elemental mercury is contained in several
types of instruments that are commonly used by electric utilities, municipalities, and households,
in order for the device to operate. Such devices may include thermometers, manometers,
barometers, relay switches, mercury regulators, meters, pressure relief gauges, water treatment
pressure gauges, and sprinkler system contacts. In a 1996 petition to EPA, the Utility Solid
Waste Activities Group (USWAG) estimated that approximately 3,000 pounds of such
equipment are generated annually by the electric and gas utilities and by other businesses
including retail and commercial establishments, office complexes, and hospitals. EPA believes
that adding these wastes to the universal waste rule will facilitate collection of mercury-
containing equipment, thereby reducing the amount of mercury reaching municipal landfills and
incinerators. According to EPA's Spring 2003 Regulatory Agenda a final rule regarding the
addition of mercury-containing equipment to the universal waste regulations may be published
by January 2004 (68 FR 30942; May 27, 2003).
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction to the topic used for Call Center training purposes.
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