Stockroom/Small Quantity Waste Generators

Disposal of chemicals from stock rooms must be in accordance with all federal, state and local rules and regulations. The following resources are intended to assist in the proper disposal of chemicals from stockrooms. The resources should not be considered all inclusive. Please send any additional sites and related information to the CCS WebAdmin.

United States Environmental Protection Agency: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is the federal agency responsible for appropriate disposal of chemical waste. Other state and local agencies may also regulate disposal of chemicals in stockrooms, but this is a good starting point. Some USEPA resources include:

Small Quantity Generator's page:  This site provides chemical disposal information for generators of small quantities of hazardous (chemical) waste. See page 2 of this document for a small quantity generator definition.

Managing Your Hazardous Waste: A Guide for Small Businesses: The USEPA, through the Small Business Development Administration, created a small business guide for waste disposal. This is also useful to other small quantity generators. The document may be viewed online or ordered from the USEPA. Page 2 defines large and small quantity generators.

Large Quantity Generators: This site provides chemical disposal information for generators of large quantities of hazardous (chemical) waste. See page 2 of this document for a large quantity generator definition.

Lab Waste at Educational Institutions: The USEPA is engaged in several efforts to facilitate improved reuse and recycling of chemicals in educational institutions and better waste management overall. Existing Federal and state hazardous waste regulations were designed primarily for industrial settings and are, in certain aspects, difficult to apply to academic teaching and research laboratories. The challenge for these academic laboratories is that they typically use small amounts of a large variety of chemicals on a sporadic basis. This page provides information about programs implemented or supported by the USEPA. This information may be useful to stockrooms in academic settings.

RCRA Orientation Manual:  This manual provides introductory information on the solid and hazardous waste management programs under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Designed for EPA and state staff, members of the regulated community, and the general public who wish to better understand RCRA, this document constitutes a review of the RCRA program and is not a substitute for RCRA or its implementing regulations. The manual comprises seven sections: Introduction to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; Managing solid waste - RCRA Subtitle D; Managing hazardous waste - RCRA Subtitle C; Managing underground storage tanks - RCRA Subtitle I; Miscellaneous statutory provisions; RCRA and its relationship to other environmental statutes; and Public participation in the RCRA program.

RCRA Online: The RCRA Online database is designed to enable users to locate documents, including publications and other outreach materials, that cover a wide range of RCRA issues and topics.

RCRA Hotline: The RCRA Hotline (800-424-9346) was created to answer questions regarding chemical waste disposal. Other numbers include the local number within DC area (703-412-9810) and a national toll-free for the hearing impaired (TDD) (800-553-7672).

National Association of Scientific Materials Managers: The National Association of Scientific Materials Managers (NAOSMM) is a group of approximately 500 individuals involved in purchasing, receiving, warehousing, distribution, and inventory control of chemicals and other scientific materials. They work in academia, industry or research and hold positions such as storeroom managers, laboratory managers, teaching lab coordinators, purchasing or procurement personnel, and business managers. NAOSMM can be a

Safety in Academic Chemistry Laboratories, 7th edition, Volume 2 Accident Prevention for Faculty and Administrators: Chapter 9 of this Committee on Chemical Safety publication provides inventory management and disposal information. The document may be viewed online in Acrobat PDF format.