Navigating the Retail Hazardous Waste Compliance Minefield

JUNE 23, 2014

Retail Hazardos Waste: The Only Constant Is Change

Retail hazardous waste management is an incredibly complex industry with only one constant—it is always changing. Retailers are tasked with adhering to regulations that often vary at the federal, state and county levels, and that are constantly evolving with political changes, high profile violations and other variables. In addition to these challenges, as we head into 2014 a number of trends are emerging that will further complicate retail hazardous waste compliance. In this post we’ll take a look at just a few of them:

• Digitalization: By 2015 the EPA must come up with a uniform plan to move from paper-based documents to electronic data for all of its records. This initiative will bring with it an increased pressure on retailers to modernize their own hazardous waste compliance reporting environments for the digital era.

• Geographic shift: With their close proximity to waterways, coastal states have traditionally been the drivers of regulatory activity. This has begun to change in recent years, however, and many landlocked states are now taking environmental initiatives more seriously and doling out hefty fines for non-compliance. As this geographic shift continues, retailers that have directed all compliance investments towards states that have been highly regulated historically will be left scrambling to address new vulnerabilities.

• Inventory optimization: Growing earnings is a key goal for all retailers and generally a top area of focus during Q1 planning. One way in which companies can improve the bottom line is by analyzing waste production to identify ways to optimize inventory, decrease scrap and potentially receive credit for inventory scrap losses, much like the manufacturer credits for expired medications. As companies continue to grapple with reduced budgets and resources, we can expect more organizations will awaken to the financial benefits of analyzing their waste streams in the year ahead.

Guidance to Compliance

As these and other industry trends come to fruition, however, retailers will struggle to navigate the already complex retail hazardous waste compliance minefield. That’s why it’s more important than ever that companies work with an expert partner to establish a retail hazardous waste management program that meets their own unique needs while also being assured the program meets the very complex hazardous waste compliance requirements. While ensuring environmental compliance will never be an easy order, having the right partner in place makes it a significantly less daunting task.