Everyone creates waste, no matter where they are or what they do. Government offices, construction sites, retail stores, hotels, and individual homes all generate waste that requires disposal. Waste disposal services are the answer, but hiring these services requires a choice. Contract or no contract? Examining the pros and cons of no-contract waste disposal services can help you make this important choice for your needs.

Pros of No-Contract Services

Many people think that a contract guarantees service, so they want to sign. However, contracts require a long-term commitment that you may not want or need. No-contract services from a reliable company will guarantee service without trapping you in a long-term commitment.

With no commitment necessary, you can choose the services you need when you need them. You can also end the service when you no longer need it. The freedom to choose and change services is perfect for people and businesses with changing waste management needs, such as construction site managers. Hiring a one-time service for disposal-adjacent services, such as spill cleanup or asbestos abatement, is easier without contracts.

Cons of No-Contract Services

No-contract services aren’t for everyone. Some people prefer the stability and longevity of a contract. Contracted services often last for a year, so you can “set, then forget” your waste disposal services. You often can’t do that with no-contract services since you must contact the service provider when you require waste removal.

Sometimes, no-contract services are more expensive than contracted services. Depending on the terms and length of the contract, you can secure a lower price for long-term services. With no-contract services, you might end up paying more because the provider may require a set payment per visit.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

The pros and cons of no-contract waste disposal services are tricky to weigh. The freedom to work without a contract is a great benefit, but so is the possibility of cost-effective services. Businesses needing disposal services must decide whether they care more about freedom or finances.

A good waste management company will offer high-quality services with no contracts at great prices. Clean Management Environmental Group cares about you, not about sucking you into contracts or expensive payments. Our industrial disposal service will meet your needs at a fair price—no contracts necessary!

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Sometimes, businesses and industrial sites find themselves with unused products on their hands. Professionals can’t sell or repurpose these items for various reasons and need alternative removal services to free up valuable space. When a situation like this occurs, waste management companies offer their expertise to eliminate certain goods safely and efficiently. What is outdated product destruction and disposal exactly? Read on to learn more.

What Is Product Destruction?

There are so many reasons why businesses have unused products. Sometimes, perishable items expire before they leave the shelf. Other times, items sustain damage during shipping, fail to pass quality specifications, or simply lose market demand. When any of these situations occur, companies may choose to use a product destruction service to get rid of unused inventory.

From old computers to out-of-style clothing, businesses in every industry have a use for off-spec product disposal. You can even take care of old documents with sensitive information through secure product destruction to keep all of your private data safe. These types of services are essential for all companies looking to improve their waste management practices.

Common Disposal Methods

Knowing what outdated product destruction and disposal is only answers part of the question. Professionals use many different methods to take care of product waste depending on the item and federal regulations. Your waste management service will determine the best course of action to eliminate your excess items with the least liability to your business. Some common forms of destruction and disposal include:

• Composting
• Shredding
• Incinerating
• Crushing
• Landfill burial

Benefits of Special Product Destruction and Disposal

Eliminating your obsolete products has several valuable benefits. For one, removing your outdated items frees up space in your storefront, warehouse, or industrial site for more essential goods, materials, and tasks. Using a special service ensures that you’re following all industry guidelines, which helps you avoid hefty fines and more severe punishments. In addition, off-spec product removal disposes of items sustainably, lessening your impact on the environment.

If you don’t destroy your out-of-date or damaged goods, you risk them selling on the “gray market.” People will still associate these faulty items with your company even if they don’t buy them from you directly, which will hurt your professional image. Outdate product destruction also keeps your staff safe from potentially harmful materials, improving your workplace conditions.

Don’t let your useless items collect dust in your inventory. Contact Clean Management Environmental Group for reliable, eco-friendly product destruction and disposal to do the hard work for you and better your business practices.

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The city of San Antonio hazardous waste disposal regulations reflect many of the rules and regulations seen across the country. Since hazardous waste poses a threat to the waterways, and therefore the United States public, careful action must be taken to ensure that all potentially harmful products are handled in such a way to minimize the risk of contamination. Government agencies and the citizens of San Antonio are entrusted with these important responsibilities.

As you read through this article about San Antonio’s hazardous waste disposal regulations, think about the hazardous waste currently in your home. Did you know those products were potentially toxic? Are you storing them with safety in mind? Have you been disposing of those products in a way that would satisfy San Antonio’s regulations? It is vital for the safety of the public that we ask ourselves these questions from time to time, and that we challenge our assumptions about toxic waste.

Define Hazardous Waste

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are a few categories of hazardous waste. There are Characteristic Wastes, Mixed Wastes, Universal Wastes, and Listed Wastes. They can be broken down as:

• Listed Wastes – Cleaning solvents, sludge from wastewater, certain pesticides, some pharmaceutical products, and waste from pesticide manufacturing or petroleum refining.
• Characteristic Wastes – Certain refuse types that are not seen in the Listed category. They are prone to “ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.”
• Universal Wastes – Pesticides that are not included in the Listed Wastes. They also include batteries, items that contain mercury, and fluorescent bulbs.
• Mixed Wastes – Anything that contains both hazardous and radioactive components.

How Hazardous Waste Can Pollute the Waterways

Hazardous waste that is not disposed of based on the city of San Antonio hazardous waste disposal regulations could find its way into the planet’s waterways. This can be done one of two ways:

1. Hazardous waste products left in regular garbage cans end up in landfills. Assuming the containers are not empty, the products can seep or leak out and drain into the ground where it can be carried by storm water runoff into creeks and rivers.
2. The hazardous products could be illegally dumped directly into storm drains. From there, the hazardous materials will dump directly into creeks and rivers. This can cause enormous damage to the environment.

How To Properly Store Hazardous Materials

The process of properly disposing hazardous materials begins with how the materials are purchased and stored. By looking after the materials from the beginning, you can lessen their potential damage. Some helpful tips for purchasing and storing hazardous waste include:

• Only buy the items in the quantity that you need. Any leftovers that you do not want to store should (1) be disposed of using the drop-off center explored below, (2) given to a friend or neighbor, or (3) donated to an organization that knows how to handle it.
• Carefully read all the labels to see if the products are or are not considered to be hazardous.
• Always store your products safely. Make sure to follow the storage directions and look for holes, tears, or broken seals on the products. Keep all hazardous products in separate containers and avoid mixing them together.

San Antonio Hazardous Waste Drop-Off

At any time, San Antonio residents can bring their household hazardous waste (HHW) to the city’s HHW Drop-Off Center. San Antonio customers that pay for an environmental fee in their CPS bill get the service for free.

Residents that want to use the service should come to the HHW Drop-Off Center with a photo ID and a copy of their CPS bill. All items should be placed in a trunk or truck bed while transporting them to the HHW Drop-Off Center.

How To Be Eligible For the HHW Drop-Off Center

You must properly prepare your hazardous waste for the HHW Drop-Off Center to make sure your drop-off fits the city of San Antonio waste disposal rules. Some of those preparations include:

• The hazardous contents should be placed in their original container.
• If you notice the container has sprung a leak, transfer all the contents to a lined cardboard or leakproof box.
• Different materials should not be mixed in the same bag or container.
• Any materials brought in a non-approved container will be returned.
• Liquid waste and paint are limited to five five-gallon cans and 25 one-gallon cans. There is a 220-pound limit.

Presumption of Risk

Every person that enters a waste drop-off center in San Antonio is assuming the risk of damage or injury that could relate to this action. Upon entering the HHW Drop-Off Center, the patrons have given away their ability to sue and to indemnify.

This rule exists because the city wants to protect its employees from legal claims, whether real or asserted. These rules do not typically have an impact on anyone until there is a reason for someone to sue. Then it can present an obstacle.

What Clean Management Environmental Group Can Do for Your Waste

We provide a variety of disposal and treatment services for hazardous and non-hazardous waste to businesses all over Texas. Handling your project from cradle to grave, we can help dispose of your waste, whether you are dealing with 5-gallon pails or 85-gallon overpacks.

Plenty of our customers have left waste lying around their site for years without any idea what the chemicals could be. We specialize in identifying waste so we can ensure its proper disposal. We also fill out all the paperwork needed to bring the waste to the facility. We cover everything, from labels to markings.

Summation

The city of San Antonio comes with it its own hazardous waste disposal specifications. Understanding these rules and regulations will aid people that might need to rid their homes of dangerous chemicals.

For people looking to manage the waste themselves, the HHW Drop-Off Center has strict specifications for how one should prepare the waste. For businesses that need a partner in handling vast amounts of chemical or hazardous waste, Clean Management Environmental Group is always ready to take on a new, challenging project.

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Many people may not be aware of the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act’s (RCRA) specific list of a group of eight heavy metals. This list is commonly referred to as the RCRA 8. Many may wonder, what is the purpose of a list of these 8 specific metals? The main purpose is that these eight metals are among the most dangerous and toxic when kept in small concentrations. What can be more concerning is that many of these metals can appear in waste. For this reason, there must be regulations that govern the acceptable amount of each metal in waste.

Many of these metals are found in waste materials that we use in our own homes, including batteries and light bulbs. Any of these waste materials must be disposed of in specific ways according to strict federal and state regulations. But what exactly makes each of these metals so hazardous? In order to better understand this, it is important to investigate the makeup of every individual metal. Learn more here, as we further investigate which substances make up the RCRA 8 metals.

Arsenic

This particular metal may sound very familiar. This is likely because, for the last several hundred years, arsenic has been known as a notorious poison. It may be surprising to some, but arsenic can be found in trace amounts in some types of food and water. It even appears in tobacco smoke. Rest assured, these levels are usually harmless. Although people generally view it as a poison, arsenic has had other uses throughout history.

One prominent use is to strengthen alloys such as lead and copper. Arsenic’s toxicity also makes it beneficial in fighting fungus, bacteria, and insects for wood preservation. The FDA even approved it as a treatment for some forms of leukemia in 2000. As arsenic is usually very hazardous, the EPA limits its amount in all waste to 5 parts per million. Any waste that could contain larger amounts of arsenic is considered hazardous waste.

Barium

This silvery-white metal also exists naturally in our environment. Barium can oxidize very easily, which causes it to have a high level of reactivity, specifically with elements such as oxygen. People that are most at risk of exposure are those who work in industries that make or use barium compounds, such as the gas and oil industries. Small amounts of barium can be found at times in food and drinking water, although they are usually not high enough to become a health concern.

Barium poisoning typically occurs through breathing air that contains barium sulphate or barium carbonate. Common products that contain barium include rat poison, fireworks, fluorescent light bulbs, and floor tiles. You should look into proper hazardous waste disposal services when discarding any of these items, as they are unacceptable for normal dumpster or waste disposal.

Cadmium

Cadmium is a byproduct of copper and zinc production. It is a soft metal with a blue-grey color. Cadmium has been known to appear in certain types of paint, especially those sold in some foreign countries. In the past, certain products such as plastic cups have been recalled because they used these paints. Long-term exposure to cadmium, even at low levels, can eventually cause cancer and target the body’s cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Batteries are one of the most common household products to contain cadmium.

Chromium

When wondering which substances make up the RCRA 8 metals, this is one most people will certainly recognize. This metal is commonly used in chrome electroplating. One of the earliest uses for chromium was for coating weapons during the Qin Dynasty in China. This metal is a bit different from several others on this list because, in trace amounts, chromium is necessary for our health. Only when there is overexposure does chromium become a hazard. High amounts of chromium can lead to damage in the liver, kidneys, and bloodstream. For this reason, the EPA regulates it at 5 parts per million.

Lead

The health hazards of lead have been extremely well documented over the course of history. It is still commonly found in many items, such as crafted metals, ammunition, old paints, and batteries. Lead is another naturally occurring substance. It typically gets into the atmosphere through a water supply during the process of burning off fossil fuels, but it can happen through other manufacturing processes as well.

This has made the fossil fuel industry a great concern to the environment. Overexposure can cause what is infamously known as lead poisoning. This condition has affected many people throughout human history, and typical symptoms include worsening cognitive function and, in more serious cases, cancer.

Mercury

One of the most dangerous metals on this list is mercury, as it is a liquid-heavy metal. One of the reasons mercury is so concerning is that its presence is quite common. Common products that contain this metal include glass thermometers, batteries, and even dental fillings. Another concern is that many species of fish contain high levels of mercury. Scientists recommend that people limit the amount of seafood they consume, as long-term effects can lead to mercury poisoning, which results in impaired cognition, tremors, and disruption to the circadian rhythm.

Selenium

Selenium is generally found in soil, but it can also come as a byproduct of refining metal sulfide and copper ores. Selenium is commonly used to manufacture electronics and pharmaceuticals. This is another metal that is good for human health, but it can become very toxic in trace amounts. The worst levels of exposure can result in selenosis. For this reason, you must discard any electronics that contain selenium in the proper manner.

Silver

One final metal, which will be probably the most recognized on our list, is silver. While silver is used in many products, including jewelry, coins, dental fillings, mirrors, and silverware, certain types of exposure can be very dangerous. The most common cause of overexposure to silver is through either inhalation or ingestion. Overexposure can cause argyria, which can disrupt breathing and turn the skin blue or grey.

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As the e-liquid industry grows, so must the awareness of e-liquid business owners’ roles as hazardous waste generators. The EPA is cracking down on state and local businesses in the retail e-liquid industry where hazardous waste might not be managed appropriately.

Find out what this means for your business:

With the e-liquid industry falling under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), regulations concerning generation, treatment, transport and disposal of hazardous waste are applicable to any business selling or manufacturing E-liquid goods.

This means your business must conduct a thorough investigation of all the waste generated within your facility. From there, you should look into whether or not this waste is defined as hazardous, as well as the level of toxicity, or the level to which the substance could harm animals or humans.

For example, as of 2015, the EPA considers nicotine as “acute hazardous waste,”  which means it can be fatal to humans in low doses. Nicotine is a P075 listed RCRA hazardous waste, therefore, all vape products containing nicotine must abide by state regulations and be properly disposed of.

How do hazardous waste disposal rules work?

It’s important to note that rules concerning hazardous waste disposal sometimes vary by state, however, these regulations are usually determined by the amount of waste your business produces. Businesses or manufacturers generating less than 2.2 pounds of acutely hazardous waste per month are considered a very small quantity generator (VSQG) and those producing greater than 2.2 pounds of acutely hazardous waste per month are known as a large quantity generator (LQG).

If you are unsure about how much waste your company produces, contact Clean Management Environmental Group, Inc. to help you determine how much toxic waste you produce and which category of waste generator your business falls under.

When is hazardous waste generated?

Thinking about how much toxic waste your business produces can be difficult – especially if you are not certain exactly what is considered hazardous waste.

When your business decides a hazardous chemical or substance can no longer be used, it is then considered hazardous waste. The EPA considers substances such as commercial chemical products like nicotine gums, patches, and sprays; off-specification commercial chemical products; container residues; and spill residues as hazardous waste once they are discarded.

Specific regulations may vary from retailers, so it’s important to stay educated on hazardous waste laws. That said, both types of businesses are required to obtain a site-specific EPA generator identification number to ensure hazardous waste is stored and disposed of correctly.

If you have questions concerning the generation of E-liquid waste or vape products, contact one of the highly trained and certified staff at Clean Management Environmental Group, Inc. We offer nationwide services that can cater to your business’s needs. To talk to a professional give us a call at 800-538-8131, fill out our inquiry form for a same-day quote or take a look at our services.

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