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ECAR
Fact Sheet for Rhode Island
Regulations BACK to VIRTUAL TOUR The following fact sheet was prepared by the ECAR Center staff. Once prepared, each ECAR Center fact sheet undergoes a review process with the applicable state environmental agency(ies). You can check on the status of the review process here. Please read the disclaimer on the status page. While we have tried to present a summary of the essential information on this topic, you should be aware that other items, such as local regulations, may apply to you. What You Need to Know When you absorb toxic or flammable material in a towel, you haven't made it any less toxic or flammable. Depending on what they have been used for, shop towels may need to be managed as hazardous wastes. But you may be able to be exempt from the full burden of hazardous waste management rules if you send your towels to a qualified commercial laundry service. If you do not send your towels out for cleaning (for example, if you use disposable towels), then the burden is on you to prove that they are not hazardous before you dispose of them. Reusable towels and a qualified laundry service are by far the best bet. In the state of Rhode Island, dirty rags/shop towels are subject to the federal RCRA hazardous waste regulations, meaning that they need to be collected in a proper container which is kept closed, labeled, dated and inspected weekly, be managed under accumulation requirements, and sent to a proper RCRA facility for disposal. However, if the contaminated rags are to be commercially laundered and reused rather than disposed of, the state of Rhode Island will give auto recyclers somewhat of a break by excluding them from the hazardous waste regulations. The rags/towels need to be managed as hazardous waste only until they are picked up by a commercial laundering service. Shop towels that are contaminated with a hazardous waste are classified as a characteristic waste, unless absorbents soaked with materials that are considered hazardous waste also are considered hazardous waste. But, in the case of rags/towels, if they are not soaked (dripping) and they meet the following conditions, they are not considered hazardous waste:
You should reduce the amount of material on your shop towels as much as possible. Shop towels saturated (dripping) with liquids that are considered hazardous wastes (such as solvents), must be handled as hazardous wastes. Towels with only minor contamination must also be handled as hazardous waste unless they are sent off-site for laundering at a properly licensed commercial laundry. However, to qualify for this exemption, there must be NO free liquids present in the accumulated rags. Any free liquids must be managed as hazardous waste and the entire rag/solvent mixture may be considered a hazardous waste subject to regulation. You should also bear in mind that allowing solvents to evaporate from the rags in order to achieve a "no free liquids" state is not permitted. Instead, you may wish to use some sort of solvent extraction or wringing to recover excess solvent amounts if they plan to have rags laundered. Any recovered liquids should be managed in accordance with the regulations. Finally, contaminated rags or commercial wipes regulated as hazardous waste MAY NOT be burned in a space heater, boiler, industrial furnace, incinerator, or other combustion device operated by the generator, or open burned. If contaminated rags/used shop towels are not sent to a laundering service, then auto recyclers must determine if the dirty shop towels are hazardous or not before disposing of them. Most likely they are indeed hazardous. Therefore, they must be managed in accordance with hazardous waste regulations. See the ECAR Hazardous Waste Fact Sheet. Links to the Regulations. Use the following links to view the regulations pertaining to shop towel management and storage. Rhode Island's Hazardous Waste Management Requirements Federal EPA Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste When an inspector comes to your facility, there are certain things he or she checks to see if you are in compliance with environmental regulations. It makes good sense for you to perform a "self-audit" and catch and correct problems before they result in penalties. Also, there are some compliance incentives associated with self-audits (see Audit Policy Page). Use the following list to audit your handling of used shop towels.
Best Management Practices (BMPs) Most regulations tell you what you have to do to be in compliance, but they don’t explain how to do it. That’s where "best management practices" come into play. BMPs are proven methods that help you to get into compliance and stay there. The following BMPs are recommended for handling used shop towels.
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