4 Types of Shop Paint Waste and How to Dispose Them




If you manage a body shop or collision center, you must properly dispose of your shop’s waste. Let’s examine four of these wastes and the requirements that the EPA sets for adhering to their disposal methods.

Determining whether a specific waste is harmful and being aware of the proper disposal techniques are also crucial.

Let’s look at some common wastes in your body shop.

What are you doing with your paint booth filters, and who is changing them out?

Sort of Waste

Not Dangerous

(With a few deviants)

Best Practices for Disposal

Only if you have proof that they are not toxic may you dispose of them in the garbage.

You must complete the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test to confirm and document that they are non-hazardous. They are likely safe unless your technicians directly spray paint into the filters with their paint guns.

Unless your paint line products change, you only need to take the TCLP test once. However, if you decide to switch to a new paint line, you will have to pass the TCLP exam.

If you would prefer not to have your paint booth filters TCLP tested, you can also have them removed by a waste vendor.

Pucks or Still Bottoms from the Solvent Recycler

Do you use a solvent recycler? If so, the recycler extracts the solvent, leaving the leftover residue in a bag called a still bottom or puck. Proper handling and disposal are essential for safety and environmental compliance.

Sort of Waste:

Dangerous

The TCLP test for this trash should not be paid for.

The EPA classifies this garbage as hazardous (F Listed), regardless of the test results.

Best Practices for Disposal

This 55-gallon drum should be filled with a bag of recycled paint, either solid or semi-solid, and marked “Hazardous Waste.” You will need to have a hazardous waste vendor remove your still bottoms.

Paint Waste Based on Water

Is the paint you’re using water-based? If so, you must understand how to properly manage this waste stream.

Non-hazardous waste, with some exceptions

Even if your paint supplier says it’s non-hazardous and safe for disposal, you still need to document certain actions.

Best Practices for Disposal

Choice 1:

All solvent paint waste should be placed in a 55-gallon drum marked “hazardous waste” and removed accordingly. This covers all trash produced by solvents.

Throw these in the garbage and avoid letting the paint solidify in the plastic liners. The EPA considers this a violation and treats it as disposing of hazardous waste paint in the trash. Rather than letting the paint solidify, painters should empty all of the paint from their paint cup into the waste drum.

Choice #2:

Combine the white, powdered substance that your paint vendor sent you. This substance functions as a coagulant and hardens waste paint when it is mixed with water-based paint.

To ascertain whether this waste is non-hazardous and suitable for disposal in the trash, do the TCLP test on it. You only need to repeat the one-time TCLP test if you change the chemical or paint product.

Paint Waste Based on Solvents

The majority of body shops and collision centers produce wastes with a solvent base. This is a result of the solvent basis of all clear coatings. You are still spraying a solvent-based clear coat and producing solvent-based paint waste even though you are using water-based paint.

Sort of Waste

Universal or Dangerous

Best Practices for Disposal

Choice 1:

All solvent paint waste should be placed in a 55-gallon drum marked “hazardous waste” and removed accordingly. This covers all trash produced by solvents.

Throw these in the garbage and avoid letting the paint solidify in the plastic liners. The EPA considers this a violation and views it as disposing of hazardous waste paint in the trash. Rather than letting the paint solidify, painters should empty all of the paint from their paint cup into the waste drum.

Choice #2:

Place the spent solvent in a solvent recycler to follow the previously mentioned still bottoms disposal procedures.

Choice #3:

Gather the trash and arrange for it to be removed as universal garbage.

This option is only available if your waste vendor handles the waste as universal waste. If not, you won’t be able to manage it and provide a label to it.

Handling this as universal garbage instead of hazardous waste reduces your status as a hazardous waste generator, leading to less stringent regulations and potential financial savings.

State-specific regulations apply to this universal waste management solution. Please confirm that this is a feasible choice by consulting your state’s EPA regulations. Or ask your SimpSocial consultant; they will provide you with the information.

Every collision center or body shop generates garbage and must find a way to remove it.

Our consultants have found that failing to remove garbage likely means you are not fully complying with EPA requirements.

We help resolve your environmental compliance issues by assisting with plan creation, permits, and compliance inspections.

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