Environmental Responsibility
We believe it is important for our customers to be informed about the latest environmental regulations concerning the proper handling and care of all products purchased from GSG. Environmental regulations provide guidance to screen printers in many areas, including hazardous waste disposal, reporting requirements, and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) calculations.
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste is any solid, liquid, or contained gaseous material that is no longer useable and is either recycled, thrown away, or stored until enough has been generated to treat or dispose.
A non-hazardous waste mixed with either a characteristic or listed waste will be considered hazardous waste.
How to identify hazardous waste
There are two ways a waste may be identified as hazardous. The first is a waste that exhibits any of the following characteristics:
• IGNITABLE - Inks, Solvents - Flash Point less than 140°F
• CORROSIVE - Acids, Caustics - pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5
• REACTIVE - Explosives, Peroxides
• TOXIC - Metals, Pesticides, Organics
The second way to identify a hazardous waste is if it appears on any one of the four lists of hazardous waste contained in EPA regulations. These wastes have been listed because they either exhibit one of the characteristics described above or contain any number of toxic constituents that have been shown to be harmful to health and the environment. The regulations list over 400 hazardous wastes, including waste derived from manufacturing processes and discarded commercial chemical products.
Generator Categories
The categories* below dictate the amount of regulations that will be applicable to the company which “generates” the waste. A smaller amount of waste generated means a smaller amount of applicable regulations.
CONDITIONALLY EXEMPT SMALL QUANTITY GENERATORS:
Generates less than 220 lbs/month of a hazardous waste
SMALL QUANTITY GENERATORS:
Generates between 220 - 2200 lbs/month of a hazardous waste
LARGE QUANTITY GENERATORS:
Generates 2200 lbs/month or more of a hazardous waste
A printer will commonly generate wastes that can be identified as hazardous. Processes that can generate wastes are screen cleaning, screen reclaiming, color matching and outdated/unusable materials.
Example 1:
If waste ink is accumulated that has a flash point less than 140°F or contains enough lead to be regulated, then this waste will be considered hazardous.
Example 2:
If a screen wash is accumulated that has a flash point greater than 140°F, but contains a material that is considered toxic (e.g. Methyl Ethyl Ketone) or contains a listed waste (e.g. Xylene, Toluene), then this waste is considered hazardous.
* May vary by state
