Environmental Marketing Service has more than ninety combined years of experience handling specialized waste disposal needs. Whether your facility is in manufacturing, operates a research laboratory, or is an educational institution, we have the services available to properly manage and dispose of your chemical waste.
Lab pack services through Environmental Marketing Services are tailored, environmentally friendly, and safe. We follow the strict guidelines set forth by government agencies (EPA and DOT) including analysis, radioactive waste management, high-hazard chemical management, sampling, and more. Contact us today to learn how lab pack services are the most cost-effective and safe disposal service available.
What are Lab Packs?
A lab pack is a sturdy, large container used for shipping smaller containers of hazardous materials or chemical waste. Smaller intact containers of the materials or chemicals are set into a large drum which typically holds up to 55 gallons of waste. Educational institutions, medical facilities, warehouses, and laboratories are the most likely to benefit from lab packs as they generate an abundance of hazardous waste.
Disposing of hazardous chemicals can be time-consuming, challenging, and costly. Environmental Marketing Services lab pack services can save your facility money, with proper hazardous waste disposal to protect your staff, employees, and the general public’s health and safety. Lab packs are an efficient, cost-effective process for you to decommission your hazardous waste safely.
Lab packing involves packing unused, expired, or unwanted chemicals into small containers. The packing consists of sorting the chemicals and padding the containers with an inert material for safe transport. These smaller containers are packed in a large drum (typically a 55-gallon drum.)
The large drum is packed with smaller containers of chemicals all similar to each other, such as oxidizers, flammables, or acids. The small containers all have to be labeled with an assigned shipping name to make sorting easier.
When a lab pack is received at the disposal facility (hazardous waste management company) further consolidation is done. The materials and chemicals are prepared for the best possible disposal method. Depending on the materials and chemicals inside the lab pack, they will be sorted for incineration, recycling, neutralization, stabilizing, or special treatment.
Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing option provides peace of mind to hazardous waste generators. You will be assured that all chemicals and other hazardous materials in the lab pack have been labeled, packed, and disposed of following all regulatory guidelines.
Materials That Can Be Lab-Packed
Typically these are the types of materials that can be transported in a lab pack:
- Varnish strippers, paint thinners, paint, inks, and dyes
- Organic peroxides
- Reagents, acids, and bases
- Compressed gases and aerosols
- Disinfecting and cleaning agents
- Solvents
- Chemical reagents
- Explosive, pyrophoric, flammable, toxic, or corrosive materials
- Oxidizers
- TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) chemicals
- Radioactive materials
- DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) substances
- Universal waste
- Unlabeled or unknown containers
- Mixed waste
Federal guidelines list different hazard classes, specific shipping names, and packing groups for hazardous waste. It can be highly dangerous to pack certain chemicals together. An individual needs training before handling lab pack materials. The team at Environmental Marketing Service has the expertise required to handle these specialized waste disposal needs.
Who Can Benefit From Environmental Marketing Service’s Lab Packing?
There are a lot of industries that use unstable chemicals that become hazardous, such as cleaning solutions and solvents. Some facilities use chemicals in bulk which become extraneous chemical waste that needs proper disposal practices.
Laboratories either used for research and development or smaller labs within large organizations such as medical facilities, educational institutions, or warehouses are some of those industries that generate a lot of chemical waste. Lab packing through Environmental Marketing Service is the solution to properly and legally disposing of bulk chemical waste.
These are some of the industries that can benefit from Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing:
Manufacturing
Almost all of the manufacturing sector from furniture to textiles generates a substantial amount of hazardous waste. This waste can include substances such as flammable paint to a combination of chemicals that become hazardous waste. Companies in the manufacturing industry need to contact Environmental Marketing Services when their toxic waste builds up for a cost-effective, efficient, and legal disposal.
Automotive
Maintaining automobiles requires the use of different chemicals that result in hazardous waste. Spent coolants, plating, flammable liquids, chrome process materials, aerosols, and drums of oily rags are some of the examples an automotive center may need to dispose of. Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing and shipping process will allow those in this industry to dispose of hazardous waste safely.
Dry Cleaning
There are a lot of different cleaning chemicals used in the dry cleaning process. This industry is one of the top generators of producing hazardous waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has specific guidelines concerning the different ways a dry cleaner can reduce the volume of hazardous waste they generate.
PERC (perchloroethylene) is used by most dry cleaning services. This solvent can be extremely harmful. This solvent, when used, generates multiple forms of hazardous waste including cooked powder residue, spent filter cartridges, still residue, and solvent distillation. Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing greatly benefits dry cleaners as a means to dispose of these hazardous materials.
Educational
The educational sector is affected by lab decommissioning. From the collegiate academic research laboratory to the high school chemistry lab, educational laboratories can contain reactive, poisonous, flammable, corrosive, and toxic chemicals all used for in-class demonstrations and instruction.
After each semester and especially at the end of the school year, these unused or excess chemicals must be properly disposed of. Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing is the safest solution for disposing of these hazardous materials. Lab packing is a fully compliant method of conveniently removing hundreds of lab chemicals at one time.
Healthcare
Hospitals and other medical facilities generate a variety of hazardous waste. From chemical waste and sharp objects to pharmaceutical waste such as expired medications all of which can become extremely hazardous and in need of proper disposal.
Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing is the safest method of disposal for large quantities of hazardous materials that are generated daily.
Environmental Benefits of Lab Packing
Lab packing not only provides the benefit of keeping humans safe from hazardous materials, but it also protects the environment. When hazardous materials are simply thrown away or dumped down a drain, it endangers the environment as well as the lives of those living in the area. Disposing of chemical waste properly is the responsibility of all industries.
Improper disposing of hazardous waste can indirectly create health risks if it releases toxins into the environment. One example is the disposal of untreated chemical waste into landfills. This waste can contaminate drinking, ground, and surface water if the landfill has not been properly constructed. Treatment of hazardous waste with chemical disinfectants could also release substances into the environment if not handled, stored, and disposed of properly.
All industries have to prioritize the disposal of hazardous waste as it can pose numerous health risks. Proper removal and disposal practices are required by the government and any mishandling is considered a crime. If your facility does not store, repack, transport, and dispose of hazardous chemicals correctly, you are subject to criminal penalties such as fines and even prison time.
Environmental Marketing Service’s lab packing will help your facility dispose of hazardous chemicals that cannot be disposed of through normal disposal practices. Federal standards in this lab packing service are adhered to and ensure all hazardous materials are moved, treated, and disposed of properly.
Complying with lab packing regulations makes sure Environmental Marketing Service is doing everything we can to protect your employees, staff, and the community. Following these regulations also ensures your facility avoids punitive measures and possible fines.
Hazardous Waste Regulations for Lab Packs
There are safety concerns when it comes to handling hazardous chemical waste as well as laws and regulations that must be followed. The EPA recommends lab packing as a compliant and safe method for disposing of chemical waste from laboratories and other areas. There are two regulatory acts enforced by the EPA. These are how to meet their requirements.
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) provides the EPA with full authority concerning how hazardous waste is handled from its generation to its disposal. Under the RCRA regulations, all chemical waste generators are required to properly dispose of hazardous waste promptly.
The LDR (Land Disposal Restrictions) program is an update to the RCRA. The provisions under the LDR focus on eliminating hazardous waste contaminants from leaching into water supplies. This program is designed to protect water supplies by not allowing groundwater sources to be polluted. Treatment processes under this program include incineration, stabilization, or immobilization.
CERCLA
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act is another act under the EPA regulations. This act creates a ‘super fund’ to clean up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Understanding the treatment for hazardous materials while staying in compliance with all regulations can be challenging.
Environmental Marketing Services’s lab packing service has trained specialists who know how to deal with hazardous materials and ensure compliance with the law and safety. Accurate record keeping and tracking the treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes must also be kept for EPA reports. You can rest assured the lab packing process through Environmental Marketing Service means your waste disposal will follow all regulations and restrictions for the type of waste your facility generates.
Choosing the Waste Management Service You Can Trust
Environmental Marketing Service is a reliable partner and dedicated to addressing all your waste management requirements. Serving clients in 47 states, excluding Hawaii, New Jersey, and Alaska, we take pride in our expertise and commitment to sustainable waste management. Contact us today and learn how our lab packing option is the best solution for managing your outdated, unneeded chemicals or other hazardous materials.
