Fact Sheets

Paint Wastes

A Summary of Regulatory Requirements

January 2005

Title V of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (Act) establishes statutory requirements to ensure that solid waste will be handled in a safe and responsible manner. The requirements found in the Act and the Board's regulations are intended to reduce the occupational and environmental health risks that occur during storage, treatment, transport, transfer and disposal of solid waste.

The information presented in this fact sheet does not eliminate any person's responsibility to fulfill any legal obligation under the Act or regulations promulgated thereunder.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide some of the solid waste requirements, found in both the Act and the Board's regulations. For the complete requirements, please see Title V of the Act and 35 Illinois Administrative Code: Subtitle G.

For additional information on solid waste regulations in Illinois, please contact the Disposal Alternatives Unit at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; Bureau of Land; 1021 North Grand Avenue East; P. O. Box 19276; Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276 or call (217) 524-3300.

What is paint waste?

Paint waste includes any unused, off-specification or out of date paint and overspray from painting operations.

Examples of paint waste generators include:

1. Home owners;
2. Automotive shops;
3. Paint retailers;
4. Professional painters; and
5. Commercial facilities employing a painting process.

Examples of paint waste:

1. Unused house paint (spray and can);
2. Overspray from a painting operation; and
3. Overspray from an automotive spray booth.

Is paint waste a special waste?

Paint waste is a special waste and may be a hazardous waste. The generator must determine if the paint waste is hazardous prior to disposal.

Exemption:
Homeowners’ paint waste is not a special waste.

Who can accept paint waste?

No person may accept any hazardous paint waste for purposes of storage, treatment, or disposal without a Resource Conservation And Recovery Act (RCRA) permit.

No person may accept any non-hazardous paint waste for storage, treatment, disposal, or transfer without a state permit issued by the Agency.

Exemptions:

1. As part of transportation of a hazardous waste, a person may accept hazardous used paint in containers for storage of less than ten days, but the container cannot be opened at an exempt transfer area; and
2. A properly permitted sanitary landfill may accept a homeowner’s paint waste for disposal.
3. Participating facilities in the “Partners for Waste Paint Solutions.”

Who can transport paint waste?

Anyone who hauls or transports any special waste (i.e., paint waste, used antifreeze, or cleaning solutions) within Illinois must have a current, valid waste hauling permit issued by the IEPA.

Exemptions:

1. Any person who generates 220 pounds or less of special waste in a calendar month and hauls their own waste; or
2. The paint waste is generated by a homeowner.

What are the manifest and reporting requirements for paint waste?

Any person who delivers any special waste to a permitted special waste hauler shall complete a manifest to accompany the special waste from delivery to the destination of the special waste. The generator must also submit an annual report to the IEPA.

Exemptions:

1. The generator generates 220 pounds or less of special waste in a calendar month; or
2. The paint waste is generated by a homeowner.

Must I submit an annual report?

A generator of non-hazardous special waste who generates more than 220 pounds in a calendar month must submit an annual special waste report to the Agency by February 1 if the generator sends any non-hazardous special waste out of state.

A generator of hazardous waste who generates 2200 pounds or more in any month must submit an annual hazardous waste report to the Agency by March 1.