Over the years, many customers have asked us how to dispose of oil contaminated material like oil absorbent pads, oily rags, dry oil and even oil-soaked cat litter. Disposing of oil-soaked absorbents depends on several factors: have the absorbents or soaked-up oil come into contact with any hazardous waste; do you plan on recycling the absorbents; and what local and state regulations are in your location.
Is Your Oil-soaked Absorbent Considered Hazardous Waste?
Absorbents — including socks, mats, pillows, sawdust, clay, paper towels and chicken feathers — are typically non-hazardous in their virgin form and can be disposed of in a solid waste landfill. But once they take in oil, you need to make a determination.
Oil-soaked absorbent pads, socks, pillows and loose particulates might be considered hazardous if the oil and/or absorbents come into contact with a listed hazardous waste or if the oil-soaked absorbents exhibit a characteristic of hazardous waste [40 CFR 261.3(a)(2)(i)]. In this case, the absorbents should be disposed of according to the rules and regulations that govern the hazardous waste it came into contact with. (Read our article on RCRA Listed and Characteristic Wastes for details.)
Will You Recycle Your Used Oil?
When it comes to used oil, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does have special management standards. These standards, however, only apply to used oil being recycled.
While it’s true that recycling can exempt you from full RCRA regulation, you may still have to follow a less intense set of rules.
The two most common methods of recycling used oil are burning it for energy recovery and re-refining.
Burning oil-soaked absorbents for energy recovery is a recycling process that involves removing water and physical contaminants from the used oil, then using it to power either an industrial process or to produce heat for cement kilns. Because used oil burns well, it is a valuable feedstock that can be used in place of virgin materials to produce heat energy.
Re-refining oil removes contaminants, and is a preferred recycling method because it only takes about one-third of the energy that it would normally take to refine oil from crude. Keep in mind that this process only pertains to liquids, so your oil-soaked absorbents would not be candidates for re-refining.
State and Local Regulations and Requirements
You should also keep in mind that when it comes to oil-soaked absorbents, many states, local municipalities and landfills have requirements that exceed the federal rules. Facility owners and managers are responsible for knowing and following those rules. For example, in California, used oil and oil-soaked absorbents are always considered hazardous and must be managed as hazardous waste.
Most states have outreach programs to help facilities understand regulations and create plans to comply with them. The EPA also has a waste decision tool, articles, webinars and other items to help facilities with disposal.
Properly disposing of spent absorbents will help your facility avoid non-compliance fines and minimize your impact on the environment.
10 Comments
James Bergmansays:
02/01/2016 at 8:35 pmI imagine that I can’t take my oil absorbents down to the local car shop so that they can dispose of them. Mostly because by the time I get around to it I don’t know what has come in contact with the sawdust on my garage floor. So, if I don’t know if there is any hazardous waste on my absorbents, what do I do? Should I just contact a hazardous waste disposal center near me to find out what the regulations are? http://www.ohanaenviron.com/material_equipment.html
Brittanysays:
02/01/2016 at 8:38 pmHi James,
Unfortunately, you will probably be hard pressed to find a local car shop that will take your used absorbents. This is due to the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) standards for waste generators. Facilities that generate wastes must determine if their wastes are hazardous. If they accept your used absorbents, they would have to make that determination on your wastes as well.
In addition to making this waste determination, all hazardous waste that a facility generates needs to be tallied to determine the facility’s generator status. The more hazardous waste a facility generates, the higher their waste generator status and the more regulations they need to follow. So, it’s not that your local car shop is being unfriendly – they are simply trying to be a good corporate citizen and manage both their regulatory and financial burdens.
In most communities, there is what is known as a “solid waste authority.” Typically, this authority is operated at the county level and supported/funded through county government. This group should be able to provide you with guidance on how to manage your used absorbents. If your community has a “household hazardous waste day,” it is often sponsored by the solid waste authority, and this would be a good time to get rid of your used absorbents. If they don’t, your local government should be able to offer advice on how and where to properly dispose of your used absorbents.
Did this info help? If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to leave another comment!
Thanks,
Brittany
Chris Winterssays:
05/15/2017 at 11:18 amI can definitely see why you would want to find some professionals to dispose of any absorbants that may have come into contact with a hazardous material. There seems to be a lot of dangerous substances seeping into our backyard. I definitely think that we should find some professionals that could help us to get rid of it before it gets to be a serious health danger.
Brittanysays:
05/16/2017 at 12:37 pmThanks for your comment, Chris! You may want to begin with a call to your local solid waste authority. They should either be able to track where those dangerous chemicals are coming from or be able to help you identify another local agency who can provide assistance.
Thanks,
Brittany
newpigsays:
06/20/2017 at 12:33 pmHave to agree with James Bergman about where to dispose oil absorbents
Gary Westsays:
11/17/2017 at 2:13 pmcan diesel soaked absorbents be disposed of in a solid waste landfill?
Brittanysays:
11/27/2017 at 3:12 pmIn most cases, diesel-soaked absorbents cannot be disposed of in a solid waste landfill because diesel fuel is a hazardous material. The two most common options for getting rid of diesel-soaked absorbents are to recycle them through a process called fuels blending or to dispose of them in a hazardous waste landfill.
Fuels blending is a process that uses wastes instead of traditional fuel sources to produce energy. Absorbents, especially those saturated with diesel fuel, have an excellent fuel value for this process. Some added benefits of this process are that the waste is destroyed, limiting future liability. And it doesn’t take up space in a landfill.
If you do choose to landfill, any absorbents that will be placed in a hazardous waste landfill must be biodegradable. This helps prevent leaching. Choose absorbents that are made of polypropylene or have mineral-based fillers like vermiculite; and avoid any absorbents with cellulose fillers.
Susan J.says:
09/24/2018 at 12:15 pmwe had a small flood and our universal socks were used to absorb the water. Then they were supposedly dried out and finally returned to their plastic container. They now smell like mold, but our environmental steward says they are fine for reuse. Is that true?
Karensays:
09/24/2018 at 2:41 pmWe’re sorry to hear about the flooding and hope that everyone at your facility is safe and well. If the socks weren’t completely dry before they were put back into storage, they could indeed smell mildew or moldy. Despite the smell, your environmental steward is technically correct: They will still function properly as absorbents. However, it may not be the best idea to have moldy socks in storage.
Our mildew-resistant socks would be a better choice for this use because they are filled with polypropylene, which is more mildew-resistant than cellulose fibers and can be air-dried and stored for reuse if they have been used to absorb water. As with all absorbent socks, it can take several days and sometimes up to two weeks for socks to completely dry. They should be turned over and shaken once or twice a day to make sure that all of the filler has a chance to dry before storage.
Best wishes, and please follow up if you have more questions.
Mohamad Zafarsays:
10/17/2018 at 1:13 amFirst of all, I thankful for this best information who provided us best knowledge about how to dispose of used absorbents. It’s really helpful for us. Thanks for such a good post.
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