No. The regulations do not provide for an acceptable amount of universal waste that can be commingled with non-hazardous solid waste; however, other hazardous wastes are currently inadvertently commingled with loads of non-hazardous solid waste (e.g., paint, oil, pesticides).

The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and CalRecycle expect that operators of solid waste facilities will continue to operate in accordance with existing load checking requirements and permit terms and conditions. The Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) will need to continue to exercise their sound discretion and use the current methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the load checking and other programs that are designed to identify and remove hazardous waste from the solid waste stream prior to disposal.

Note The load check program, as described in the facility’s Report of Facility Information (RFI), is not required to list each and every type of waste that could possibly be defined as hazardous. That said, the load checking activity should be reasonably effective in identifying and removing hazardous waste from those loads that are required to be load checked in accordance with permit requirements and as appropriate to protect the health and safety of the facility employees.

California regulations require operators of transfer facilities and landfills to implement programs to prevent acceptance of prohibited materials (i.e., a load check program). Failure to take steps in accordance with an approved load checking program or permit requirements in recognition of worker health and safety should be noted and appropriate enforcement action should be taken.

It is understood that no load check program will be able to prevent all hazardous waste from entering a solid waste facility; therefore, the load check program must include procedures for removing hazardous waste that is identified upon entering a facility.

Relevant Regulations

• Regulatory requirements for transfer facilities – Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations
• Regulatory requirements for landfills – Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations 

Transfer stations and landfills can accept hazardous waste if the site has been approved to do so pursuant to 14 CCR § 17407.5(b) and 27 CCR § 20870(b), respectively.

Solid waste sites already approved to accept wastes such as antifreeze, batteries, oil, and paint (ABOP)

• For these sites, only minor modifications to the operating record would be required to reflect the additional waste types to be collected.

Sites starting new universal waste collection activities

• A solid waste facility operator may set up new collection activities for universal wastes without authorization from DTSC or a CUPA. These collection activities must meet the standards for universal waste management requirements.
• With respect to solid waste permit documents, sites starting up new universal waste collection activities would follow the same procedure they would follow to add an ABOP program.

Adding universal waste to the other types of hazardous waste received would not, in most circumstances, require a permit revision.

A facility with an existing household hazardous waste (HHW) facility

• The Report of Facility Information (RFI) must properly identify the HHW facility or other universal waste handling activities within the permitted boundary, but the solid waste facility permit should not need to be changed unless the permit contains specific terms or conditions that would be inconsistent with the establishment of such activities (e.g., no hazardous waste).

Proposing a first-time hazardous waste collection program at a facility with specific permit restrictions

• The permit may need to be revised to remove the specific permit restriction(s) prior to allowing new universal waste collection activities from taking place.
• Additionally, adjustments may need to be made to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents and conditional use permits.

Jurisdictions would not have to formally revise their HHW elements, but they should update these elements by describing the new services in their Annual Reports to CalRecycle.

The current requirement is that hazardous waste handling areas be identified in the Report of Facility Information (RFI). If the storage area is not clearly designated in the RFI or other site plans, the local enforcement agency (LEA) should take into account the need for a transition period and require the owner/operator to update the RFI or site plan in a timely manner.

Unless there is a solid waste facility permit condition specifically controlling the storage area, there is no need to change the permit to designate the extent of the storage area.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control and CalRecycle expect that operators of solid waste facilities will continue to operate in accordance with existing load checking requirements and permit terms and conditions.

The local enforcement agency (LEA) will continue to exercise their sound discretion and to use their current methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the load checking and other programs designed to identify and remove hazardous waste from the solid waste stream prior to disposal.

Note The load checking activity should be reasonably effective in identifying and removing hazardous waste from those loads that are required to be load checked in accordance with permit requirements and as appropriate to protect the health and safety of the facility employees.

The owner/ operator of the facility should:

1. take the same actions that are taken when any hazardous waste is discovered; and
2. take actions in accordance with the site’s load checking or hazardous waste identification and exclusion program.

Option 1 → Remove the item and transport it in a suitable separate container to the solid waste facility where it can be stored with other hazardous wastes removed during “load-checking”

This would be the safest approach, but it may not always be possible.

Option 2 → Leave the item in the trash and transport the commingled load to a solid waste facility

This depends upon the case-specific factors. If the universal waste can be safely removed, it should be.

Option 3 → Remove the item from the trash and leave it at the curbside

If the driver cannot properly manage the waste once removed from the container, he or she should not remove it. Universal waste should not be left curbside by the solid waste hauler.

Option 4 → Leave the container at the curbside with a notice to the generator (either residential or commercial) that the waste in the container is not in compliance with state law and cannot be picked up unless the universal waste(s) are removed

A solid waste hauler is within his rights to refuse to accept a load obviously contaminated with universal wastes or any other hazardous waste.

In summary, DTSC and CalRecycle recommend that a driver who notices universal waste in a solid waste container do one of the following (in order of preference):

• Remove the item and transport it in a suitable separate container to the solid waste facility where it can be stored with other hazardous wastes removed during load-checking. A notification should be sent to the resident that universal waste may not be thrown away with their other non-hazardous solid waste.
• Leave the item in the solid waste container and take the entire load to the load-checking station for subsequent removal. A notification should be sent to the resident that universal waste may not be thrown away with other non-hazardous solid waste.

A solid waste operator who unknowingly transports hazardous waste to a solid waste facility, incidental to the collection of solid waste, is not subject to hazardous waste transporter registration requirements [HSC § 25163(e)].

A solid waste hauler that discovers, after the fact, that it has unknowingly transported universal waste in a load of solid waste should remove the universal waste at the solid waste facility and manage it in accordance with DTSC’s regulations. So, there should not be a problem as long as the hauler complies with all applicable universal waste handling standards.