An Industry Overview of Drycleaning and Laundry Facilities

Drycleaning and Laundry Plants

Industry Overview

While not all drycleaning and laundry facilities produce hazardous waste, those facilities using hazardous solvents might be subject to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements covering the generation, transportation, and management of hazardous waste.

The establishments covered under drycleaning and laundry plants include:

• Retail drycleaning stores
  
• Industrial and linen supply plants with drycleaning operations
  
• Leather and fur cleaning plants
  
• Self-service laundromats with drycleaning equipment
  
• Other establishments with drycleaning operations

Hazardous Wastes from Drycleaning and Laundry Plants

Potential hazardous wastes generated by drycleaning and laundry plants are primarily solvents. These solvents include:

• Perchloroethylene, otherwise known as perc, PCE, or tetrachloroethylene
  
• Valclene, also known as fluorocarbon 113 or trichlorotrifluoroethane
  
• Petroleum solvents, such as Stoddard, quick-dry, low-odor, and other solvents

• Still residues from solvent distillation (the entire weight)
  
• Spent filter cartridges (total weight of the caridge and remaining solvent after draining)
  
• Cooked powder residue (the total weight of drained powder residues from diatomaceous or other powder filter systems after heating to remove excess solvent)

• Still residues from solvent distillation (the entire weight)
  
• Spent filter cartridges (total weight of the cartridge and remaining solvent after draining)

• Still residues from solvent distillation (the entire weight)

If you generate 100 kilograms (220 pounds or about half of a 55-gallon drum) or more of hazardous waste per month, you must fill out a Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest when you ship hazardous waste off your property. The Manifest requires the proper Department of Transportation (DOT) description for each waste. DOT description information is provided in Table 2 to aid in preparing the Manifest. Table 1 and Table 2 are not comprehensive lists. If you suspect you generate other hazardous wastes, contact your state hazardous waste agency or Regional EPA office for more information.

Waste Minimization

An effective waste minimization program can reduce the costs, liabilities, and regulatory burdens of hazardous waste management, while potentially enhancing efficiency, product quality, and community relations. Waste minimization techniques that can help you reduce the amount of hazardous waste that you generate include:

• Production planning and sequencing
  
• Process/equipment adjustment or modification
  
• Raw material substitution
  
• Loss prevention and housekeeping
  
• Waste segregation and separation
  
• Recycling

Table 1 Typical Quantities of Hazardous Waste from Dry Cleaning
(Pounds of waste per 1,000 pounds of clothes cleaned)

Waste Type	Cleaning Method Average Quantity of Hazardous Waste (pounds)
	PERC	Valclene	Petroleum Solvents
Still Residues	25	10	20
Spent Cartridge Filters Standard (carbon core) Adsorptive (split)		20 15	30 20
Cooked Powder Residue	40	NA	NA
Drained Filter Muck	NA	NA

Well-drained filter cartridges or drained filter muck are solids and me not likely to meet the criteria for classification as ignitable solids; therefore, they are usually not hazardous wastes. Be sure, however, that these wastes do not fail the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure; if they do, they are hazardous wastes.

Table 2 Drycleaning and Laundry Plants Waste Descriptions UN/NA

Waste Type	Designations/Trade Names	DOT Shipping Name	Hazard Class ID Number
Perc	Waste Perchloroethylene or Waste Tetrachloroethylene	ORM-A	UN1897
Valclene	Hazardous Waste, NOS2	ORM-E	UN9189
Petroleum Solvents	Waste Petroleum Distillate Waste Petroleum Naphtha	Combustible Liquid Combustible Liquid	UN1268 UN1255
Hazardous Waste, NOS	Hazardous Waste. Liquid or Solid, NOS	ORM-E	NA9189

1. In certain situations, other DOT descriptions may be applicable to the wastes listed.
   
2. NOS - not otherwise specified.
   
3. If the flash point of the solvent or residue as disposed of is less than 100 deg. F., the hazard class is "flammable liquid". Although the flash point of petroleum drycleaning solvents is above 100 deg. F., the presence of contaminants (such as printing inks) could lower the overall flash point to below 100 deg. F..