Cal DTSC to Finalize Relaxed CRT Disposal Regulations

California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is preparing to finalize “emergency regulations” to ensure proper recycling and disposal of Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) and CRT glass.

The new CRT standards will make official some of the emergency regulations for CRTs implemented in California in 2012 and re-adopted in 2014 and 2016. DTSC adopted and re-adopted these emergency rules in the hopes that some enterprise would discover a new or novel way to recycle CRT glass.

Nobody did.

“After six years of the emergency rules.” DTSC now says, “…no CRT recyclers appear to have successfully found another recycling option for CRT.” Because no new recycling methods were discovered, DTSC is now moving to codify most but not all of those emergency rules, which were set to expire on September 15, 2018.

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The soon-to-be-finalized CRT requirements expand the options for managing and disposing of CRTs, including the following: 

• Allowing universal waste handlers to accept CRTs and CRT devices without a permit.
• Allowing disposal of CRT panel glass in nonhazardous waste landfills.
• Creating new paperwork requirements for recyclers who send CRTs out-of-state for recycling.
• Adding new provisions for handling, segregation, disposal, and tracking of CRT glass.
• Eliminating the Excluded Recyclable Material (ERM) exclusion previously found at Health and Safety Code 25143.2. 

See Cal EPA’s statement of reasons for the CRT rule change and the proposed regulatory text here.

Why Does California Need “Emergency” CRT Rules?

CRTs are commonly found in older model televisions and computer monitors. As technology advances and fewer companies manufacture CRTs, the options for recycling CRTs have become sparse. One of the few options for recycling CRTs allowed under California law was to use them in the production of new CRT glass. Think of it this way: What if you could only dispose of your old cassette tapes by selling those tapes to a cassette tape manufacturer? It might be a challenge to get rid of those tapes!

With fewer and fewer new CRTs being manufactured, facilities that generate CRTs are left to manage, handle, and dispose of them in line with exacting hazardous and universal waste rules under California’s Title 22 regulations and Health and Safety Code (HSC). 

The other option for CRT disposal was use in lead-smelting. This activity is not as common as it once was, leading to shrinking demand for CRTs to use in the smelting process.

Hazardous Waste Training for California EHS Professionals

If your site generates hazardous waste in California, knowing the Federal RCRA rules is not enough to ensure compliance. California’s State Health & Safety Code and Title 22 regulations set additional, State-specific requirements you must follow to avoid costly civil penalties, future liability, and even incarceration.

Be confident you know the specific hazardous waste management and reporting rules that apply to industry in California!  At the  California Hazardous Waste Management Workshop, satisfy your EPA and DTSC training requirement and get up to speed with the latest laws, rules, and CUPA interpretations that affect your business. Join an expert Lion instructor for the workshops in San Diego on September 24—25, Los Angeles on September 27—28, Bakersfield on October 1—2, and Oakland on October 4—5.

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Tags: Cal, california hazardous waste, CRT, DTSC, EPA, universal waste