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Businesses that produce or handle hazardous waste know EPA hazardous waste compliance is essential to keep their employees, the public, and the environment safe, as well as to avoid fines, penalties, and potential liability. Now, with the new year approaching, businesses need to be even more careful to comply with new regulations and remain up-to-date.
Whether you’re an environmental manager, compliance officer, waste management professional, or business owner, there are several new hazardous waste regulation updates that are important to understand. Because hazardous waste regulations span across industries, remaining current and compliant on the latest legislation is relevant to a wide array of businesses, but is particularly relevant to industries such as manufacturing, education, healthcare, distribution, municipal services, and transportation.
Here’s a brief overview of some of the most important developments occurring with hazardous waste regulations in 2025.
01 / PFAS Regulations
New regulations regarding the reporting of PFAS under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) will take effect on July 11, 2025. These 2025 hazardous waste regulations will take effect later than the originally intended date of November 11, 2024, which will give businesses more time to prepare to comply with them. However, businesses that will be affected need to be prepared to comply.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are controlled under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). PFAS are synthetic organic compounds that have been used in a number of consumer products and industries, such as the aerospace industry, for many years. However, these chemicals stay in the environment for decades due to their strong carbon-fluorine bond and can have detrimental effects on the health of humans and animals. Therefore, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regulates them and will be requiring new climate-impact hazardous waste reporting for these substances.
The 2025 PFAS regulations will require any entities, even small entities that have manufactured or imported PFAS during any year since 2011, to report the data they have concerning “PFAS uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards” to the Environmental Protection Agency through the Central Data Exchange. This will affect a number of industries, and the EPA specifically mentions the manufacturing and construction industries.
Once the submission period starts, entities that manufacture PFAS will be given six months to provide the EPA with their data. However, if a business is a small manufacturer that will solely be reporting due to imported articles, it will have six more months to report its PFAS data to the EPA. Preparing the proper documentation to be submitted could be difficult and require effective PFAS waste management solutions.
02 / E-Waste Disposal Regulations
Starting on January 1, 2025, new Basel Convention electrical and electronic waste amendments will take effect, changing e-waste disposal regulations. These new e-waste disposal rules will affect hazardous materials transportation in 2025 for international shipments of electronic and electrical waste. When the amendments take effect, both hazardous and non-hazardous waste will be subject to the requirements of the Basel Convention.
This means that the Basel Party country exporting the electrical or electronic waste must get the written consent of the importing country before the shipment leaves the exporting country. This is called prior informed consent. The amendment creates two new classifications: hazardous e-waste and scrap and non-hazardous e-waste and scrap. Both of these classifications have three categories. These are:
Whole Equipment
Fractions that come about due to the processing of components or whole equipment that are not subject to another Basel listing
Components that are not covered by another Basel listing.
This new regulation would decrease the amount of toxic waste exported to countries less likely to be able to handle it and necessitate more companies adopting waste management plans that effectively deal with the heavy metals and toxic substances in electronics without exporting them. This could be difficult for many of these companies, but with the help of an experienced waste management company, they can form an effective waste management plan that complies with regulations and keeps costs down.
03 / RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) Compliance Changes in 2025
A change in how the RCRA manages hazardous waste manifests will take effect on December 1, 2025. This rule, the EPA’s third rule concerning e-manifests, is intended to further encourage electronic manifests. As a result of this new rule, both small and large hazardous waste generators will be required to register to e-Manifest in order to electronically obtain final signed copies of their manifests. This will affect many small hazardous waste generators, such as small healthcare facilities and educational facilities. Labs that are only shipping small shipments of lab packs will still need to register for access to e-Manifest if they want to get their final signed manifest copy.
Regulations regarding shipping requirements and completion of the shipping manifest still apply. For laboratories, it is essential to still comply with all regulations concerning lab packs, which can be confusing. Laboratories owned by eligible academic entities can follow Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 262, subpart k when shipping lab packs, which is intended to be easier for these facilities. However, there are still many regulations to follow concerning packing, labeling, shipping, and documentation for the lab packs, which can be complicated and must be followed to avoid fines or penalties. A waste management company can help ensure compliance with these requirements.
04 / New Reporting Requirements for Greenhouse Gases)
There will be new requirements in 2025 for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA’s revisions to Subpart W have been finalized. These changes are meant to expand, update, and strengthen the reporting requirements for methane emissions for natural gas and petroleum systems resulting in more accurate reporting. The new reporting requirements include sources that were previously not reported, which means these companies will need to be careful to comply with the increased documentation required to maintain compliance.
05 / Trust a Leader in Hazardous Waste Removal to Help Your Business Navigate Changing Waste Regulations
Hazardous waste regulations are frequently changing, and it can be difficult for businesses to keep up and comply with them. If you would like more information about hazardous waste regulations or need help creating a waste management plan, reach out to the waste experts at MCF Environmental Services. Everyday we help businesses remain safe and compliant with comprehensive waste management services.
Robert Losurdo
President, COO
