Hazardous waste in industry: what your company must do, and how to cover it
A drum of used oil left beside the production hall and an emptied solvent can are, legally, the same class of problem. The hazardous waste regime has its own rules for storage, transport and reporting — and the difference between a prepared company and a surprised one comes down to a handful of layout decisions.
In short
- The asterisk in the code and the hazard properties decide the regime; a correct inventory of streams is the first obligation.
- Separate storage, labelled containers, a bunded area — mixing streams turns everything into hazardous waste.
- Transport requires prior approval and a consignment form: it is planned, not improvised.
What makes a waste hazardous
A waste is hazardous if it displays at least one of the hazard properties defined at European level — flammable, toxic, corrosive, ecotoxic and so on. In the code list these are the entries marked with an asterisk, and OUG 92/2021 on the waste regime sets out the management rules.
In practice most industrial companies generate hazardous waste without calling it that: used machine oil, packaging that held paint, adhesive or solvent, contaminated wipes and absorbents, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent tubes. The first obligation is an honest inventory of the streams.
Temporary storage at the generator
Until collection, hazardous waste is stored separately by type, in labelled containers, in a marked, covered area with spill containment for liquids. Mixing two hazardous streams, or a hazardous one with a non-hazardous one, is prohibited — and turns the whole quantity into hazardous waste.
The label must state the waste code and the hazard properties, and the area must be reachable for loading without crossing production space. These are small things, settled in a day at the layout stage, that get raised at inspections for years.
Transport: prior approval and the consignment form
Unlike non-hazardous waste, hazardous waste cannot be shipped on the spot. HG 1061/2008 provides for a prior transport approval procedure, with a consignment form and notification of the environmental protection agencies concerned, on top of ADR requirements where the material falls under dangerous goods transport.
The practical consequence is simple: plan. A shipment of used oil or contaminated packaging is arranged days in advance, not on the day the drum fills up. An operator that handles these streams routinely prepares the documentation in parallel with scheduling the transport.
Records, reporting, and what to ask of your operator
Quantities generated, stored and handed over go into the waste records and are reported annually in the Integrated Environmental System. Special streams — used oils, batteries and accumulators, WEEE, packaging — carry their own dedicated legislation on top, each with its own obligation to hand over to permitted operators.
Ask your collector for three things: an environmental permit that explicitly covers your hazardous codes, complete transport documents on every shipment, and confirmation of the treatment operation applied. With those three on file, a hazardous waste inspection becomes a formality.
Frequently asked questions
- Is used machine oil hazardous waste?
- Yes. Used oils appear in the code list with entries marked as hazardous and must go to operators permitted for those codes, with the corresponding transport documents.
- Can I store several types of hazardous waste in the same container?
- No. Mixing categories is prohibited, and the result is handled entirely as hazardous waste, at the cost of the strictest category in the mixture.
- How long does arranging a hazardous waste shipment take?
- It depends on the stream and the agencies involved, but treat it as an operation planned several days ahead, because of the prior transport approval.
This article is informational and reflects our practice at the date of publication. Romanian environmental legislation changes frequently — for your company's specific situation, check the texts in force and consult the environmental protection agency or a specialist adviser.