RCRA Regulations for Used Oil

The RCRA regulations concerning used oil have their roots in early legislation. In 1980, Congress passed the Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980 to encourage the recycling of used oil. Over the course of the next two decades, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed special recycling regulations for used oil, and placed restrictions on the burning of used oil for energy recovery. Ultimately, these regulations were combined to form a more comprehensive plan that was codified in RCRA regulations at 40 CFR 279. In an effort to encourage the recycling of used oil, the RCRA regulations provided relatively easy processes for generators of used oil to implement, which helps to ensure compliance.

The RCRA regulations for used oil include a concept referred to as the "recycling presumption," which states that used oil, even if it has acquired hazardous characteristics during its use as an oil, is exempt the hazardous waste regulations because it is understood that the oil will eventually be recycled. The recycling presumption assumes that all of the used oil that is generated will be recycled, and that, therefore, it can be managed under RCRA's used oil management system rather than under the regulations for hazardous waste. This spares handlers from having to treat used oil as hazardous waste. Note, however, that mixing used oil with hazardous wastes, or disposing of the oil instead of recycling it, invalidates the presumption, and then the oil must be treated as hazardous waste.

To learn more about RCRA visit our RCRA Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.