Universal waste

• Federal regulations define the types of materials that fall under five specific universal waste categories and specify in what situations that material can be considered a universal waste.

The universal waste regulations streamline hazardous waste management standards for specific, federally designated wastes. The rule is designed to reduce the amount of hazardous waste items to landfills, to encourage recycling and proper disposal of certain common hazardous wastes, and to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses that generate these wastes.

Cited under 40 CFR 273, the federal regulations define the types of materials that fall under five specific universal waste categories (batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, lamps, and non-empty aerosol cans) and specify in what situations that material can be considered a universal waste.

Under these regulations, organizations are required to:

• Identify waste batteries, lamps, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, or non-empty aerosol cans eligible for the universal waste program.
• Store universal wastes in appropriate containers.
• Label containers with the words “Universal Waste,” and the type of universal waste (e.g., waste batteries, waste lamps).
• Ship universal waste offsite within one year.
• Ship universal wastes to another universal waste handler or a permitted receiving facility.