The title of this article contains three questions, but really they are all the same.  If you have a product that has been abandoned, then it has been discarded; and if a product has been discarded, then it is a solid waste.  Once you have determined your product is a solid waste, you must conduct a hazardous waste determination and identify its final status as a hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, or perhaps a waste with an applicable exclusion from regulation.

A question I frequently receive at my Public Training Seminars and my Onsite Training goes something like this,

Company A has a 55-gallon drum of an unused product in storage.  The container is unopened and it is believed that the contents are still usable, however Company A has no immediate plans for use and does not know what it is going to do with the drum.  Based on the MSDS and generator knowledge the product will be a hazardous waste when disposed of.  When, if ever, must Company A begin to manage the unused product as a hazardous waste?

This is tough question because the regulations can only take you so far.  After that it is up to you as the generator of the waste to determine if the product in question is a solid waste and if so, is it a hazardous waste.  This article will review the applicable Federal regulations of the US EPA to help identify when a product becomes a waste.  It will also provide some criteria to follow when making your decision of Product v. Waste. (more…)