Is my empty drum hazardous waste?

Any hazardous waste remaining in either an empty container or an inner liner removed from an empty container is not subject to regulation under 40 CFR parts 261 through 265, or Part 268, 270 or 124 or to the notification requirements of section 3010 of RCRA.

A container or an inner liner removed from a container that has held any hazardous waste (except compressed gas or an acute hazardous waste, see below) is empty if:

• All wastes have been removed that can be removed using the practices commonly employed to remove materials from that type of container, e.g., pouring, pumping, and aspirating; and
• No more than 2.5 centimeters (one inch) of residue remain on the bottom of the container or inner liner; or
• No more than 3 percent by weight of the total capacity of the container remains in the container or inner liner if the container is less than or equal to 110 gallons in size, or no more than 0.3 percent by weight of the total capacity of the container remains in the container or inner liner if the container is greater than 110 gallons in size.

Compressed gas containers

A container that has held a hazardous waste that is a compressed gas is empty when the pressure in the container approaches atmospheric.

Containers that held acute waste

A container or an inner liner removed from a container that has held an acute hazardous waste listed in 261.31, 261.32, or 261.33(e) is empty if:

• The container or inner liner has been triple rinsed using a solvent capable of removing the commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate;
• The container or inner liner has been cleaned by another method that has been shown in the scientific literature, or by tests conducted by the generator, to achieve equivalent removal; or
• In the case of a container, the inner liner that prevented contact of the commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate with the container has been removed.