Airbag Inflator Disposal & Recycling

THE INDUSTRY’S ONLY TRULY ECOLOGICAL PROCESS FOR THE SAFE DESTRUCTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECALLED AIRBAG INFLATORS

56 million defective airbags are currently under recall because they can explode when deployed. The airbags don’t perform correctly because their materials, particularly their metal components, are defective. Climates with high heat and humidity can make the problem even more dangerous. If these defective airbags explode upon deployment, they can cause serious injury and death.

Because of this problem, the largest worldwide automotive recall in history began in May 2016 and continues through December 2019. It’s estimated that 65 to 70 million total airbags will be affected by the time the recall is complete. Recalled airbags must be completely and safely destroyed and disposed of. This is a monumental task facing the automotive industry.

Early in 2019 we stepped in, to support the industry and help address the public safety issue. Recalled airbags which contain ammonium nitrate as the propellant must be sent to a hazardous waste permitted facility (permitted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA). Universal waste facilities are not allowed to accept the airbags. There are presently only 3 RCRA-permitted facilities in the country accepting these devices. Our facility is one of the three, but we’re unique because we shred the airbags, whereas the other two facilities incinerate (burn) them. Our destruction process also results in the recycling or re-use of nearly 100% of the residuals produced: the ammonium nitrate is safely extracted and sold to the fertilizer industry; the metal is sold to steel mills for use in appliances, auto parts, and other devices; the cardboard shipping containers in which the airbags arrive are recycled. Therefore, our proprietary, patent-pending airbag disposal system is the only completely green, environmentally-friendly choice.

We can handle any volume of airbags (from small to large jobs) and we are completely transparent throughout the process from paperwork to shipping to holding on-site (if needed) to destruction. We have in place a nationwide transportation network in support of a collection of these units, so getting the units to our facility is a smooth process. We provide complete material traceability and prompt proof of disposal.

What airbag waste handlers need to know:

• All used, recalled airbag inflators containing ammonium nitrate are now classified as hazardous waste, which affects their transportation, storage, handling, disposal and reporting.
• In November 2018, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) published an interim final rule to support automotive dealerships, salvage yards and other airbag waste handlers by exempting the collection of airbag waste from hazardous waste requirements as long as certain conditions are met.
• Handlers are required to send recalled inflators which have been in service to an RCRA designated facility for proper disposal in a timely manner.
• CWE was granted the required Class 3 modification to our RCRA Facility Part B permit in Dayton to add the necessary reactive waste code to accept inflators. We are permitted to shred 17 Million airbags/year. We can handle orders of any size (small to large), and our shredder has plenty of available capacity.
• We help dealers and OEM’s navigate the complex regulated process of managing the materials all the way from their hands to ours. Airbags are logged and tracked throughout the shipment and destruction process, and we promptly provide all necessary certificates and proof of disposal.
• It’s also important to note that our airbag shredding facility is located at a fully RCRA-Part B permitted hazardous waste facility, so our capabilities extend far beyond airbag disposal should you require other services.

What the public needs to know:

• The defective airbag inflator and propellant devices that may improperly deploy during a crash, even a minor one, could shoot metal fragments at the occupants, which has resulted in hundreds of injuries and some deaths to date.
• Over 100 million airbag inflators in vehicles manufactured between 2006 and 2016 are involved, making this the largest automotive recall in history.
• Driver Airbags, Passenger Airbags, and Side Impact Airbags which use ammonium nitrate as their propellant are the most common devices affected by this recall.
• It has been reported that some recalled inflator devices have been reinstalled into vehicles, causing them to be recalled multiple times, driving the recall to potentially 150 million units.
• Because the recalled inflators cannot be re-used or safely deployed once removed from the vehicles, inflators have been declared a danger to public health and safety by the USEPA and must be disposed of as hazardous waste.

To learn more, read our press release or contact Mitch George, Sales and Marketing Manager.

Hazardous Waste Management

COMPETENT WASTE MANAGEMENT – REST ASSURED YOUR HAZARDOUS WASTE LIABILITY IS SAFE WITH US

Since 1995 Clean Water Environmental has held an RCRA Facility Part B permit to operate a hazardous waste Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF). EPA hazardous wastes, as defined in 40 CFR part 261 and OAC 3745-51, presently permitted for management at the facility are listed below. These permitted wastes are accepted for storage and transferred off-site for fuel blending, incineration or stabilization. Some transfers are “as is,” in container while others are bulked up for transport.

Acceptable Waste Codes:

D001, D004, D005, D006, D007, D008, D009, D011, D018, D019, D021, D022, D023, D024, D025, D026, D027, D028, D029, D034, D035, D036, D038, D039, D040, D043;

F001, F002, F003, F004, F005, F037, F038;

K048, K049, K050, K051, K087;

U002, U019, U031, U052, U056, U057, U070, U071, U072, U080, U112, U117, U121, U140, U154, U159, U161, U171, U196, U210, U211, U220, U226, U227, U228, U239.

Waste Acceptance and Processing Criteria

• The characteristics of the waste must be among those that the facility is permitted to accept.
• No hazardous waste shipment will be accepted at the facility unless the shipment is accompanied by a hazardous waste manifest which meets the requirement of 40 CFR Part 262.
• No waste is scheduled for pickup or shipment into the facility without prior analysis (pre-screening) as per our WAP (Waste Analysis and Acceptance Plan Procedures).
• Incompatible wastes, PCBs, pesticides, explosives, corrosive or reactive wastes are not accepted at this time.

Liquid and solid organic wastes are transferred off-site for processing into energy-efficient, high-Btu combustible fuels for energy recovery. This process provides alternative fuel for cement kiln operations and meets strict federal, state and cement kiln specifications.

Clean Water Environmental delivers regulatory compliance and full accountability, with a focus on using innovative technology to responsibly conserve and re-use resources.

Handling hazardous waste is a complicated business. We’re here to help you with every aspect of a project to be sure it’s done correctly. For example:

• Proper container care and using the right container for your waste stream’s characteristics are very important. We have resources to help you choose the proper containers, and we can help with labels and shipping papers.
• Although waste characterization, profiling, labeling and shipping papers are the responsibility of the generator, we have deep expertise in proper procedures and are happy to help you. Our customer service team is ready to offer the support you need.
• We create either a Certificate of Destruction or a Certificate of Recycling for all hazardous wastes we receive. We can also supply a Certificate of Recycling for used oils and fuels.

Here are a few other unique characteristics about our Hazardous Waste Management capabilities:

• We operate one of the region’s few permitted Central Water Treatment (CWT) facilities capable of managing RCRA Hazardous wastewaters.
• Both our Dayton and Mansfield locations are permitted for the treatment of Categorical Wastewaters and their discharge.
• Our Dayton waste facility can store containerized hazardous wastes, per our State of Ohio EPA Hazardous Waste Facility Installation and Operation Permit.

We remind all prospective customers that we are fully insured for transportation and at our treatment facilities by Nautilus Insurance Company and Great Divide Insurance Company.

Everything we’ve learned from handling hazardous waste is voluntarily applied throughout our facilities, creating a standard of culture that goes above and beyond regulatory requirements. We like to call this the “highest common denominator.”

Our entire operation, not only the RCRA-permitted areas, operates under our Waste Analysis and Acceptance Plan (WAP) procedures. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at both our Dayton and Mansfield facilities are heavily influenced by hazardous waste procedures. We treat all aspects of our receiving, permitted or not, the same way we treat the most complex material. (See our Waste Analysis Plan (WAP).

This extra-step responsibility and stewardship provides customers peace of mind that Clean Water Environmental is your most responsible choice for Hazardous Waste Management solutions.

Wastewater Treatment Services

PRESERVE OUR WATER RESOURCES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Clean Water Environmental has state of the art wastewater treatment, disposal, and recycling facilities for hazardous and non-hazardous wastewaters in two strategically situated Ohio locations to meet all your wastewater treatment needs.

We treat diverse streams of wastewater that come to us from chemical plants, refineries, landfills, and manufacturing facilities. Some examples of wastewater we can service are:

• Machine coolants and process waters
• Combustible and flammable waters (hazardous or exempt)
• Caustics and Acids
• Heavy metals laden waters
• Waters containing alcohols, glycols, oils, fuels, resins and other organics

Clean Water Environmental uses both tried-and-true processes and technological cutting-edge systems to treat your wastewaters. Our goal is to meet regulatory compliance but also deliver environmentally friendly wastewater treatment services for our customers.

Our continuously operating Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) units and chemical batch treatment tanks in Dayton offer the efficiency and flexibility not seen in any other Central Water Treatment (CWT) facility in our region.

Our second-generation Niro Falling Film Evaporator technology in Mansfield leads the way in ultra-efficient, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment. The Niro is recognized by the Ohio EPA as Best Available Technology (BAT) for the reduction (treatment) of industrial wastewaters. The Niro provides maximum dewatering of waste while reusing the evaporated water to heat the next cycle’s incoming water. This reduces the evaporator’s consumption of fossil fuels by over 70%. The result: compliant discharge and super effective removal of contaminates.

By the end of 2019, we’ll have a second evaporator coming online which will double our throughput. And in spring 2020 we plan to add ultrafiltration before sending any liquids through the evaporator, which will improve the efficiency of the evaporator and vastly increase our wastewater treatment capacity.

The Niro Evaporator’s high BTU residuals are currently recycled as a Used Oil Fuel and as a natural gas replacement. Clean Water Environmental used oil fuel is a clean-burning reused petroleum product offered to the asphalt, steel and incineration industries.

The Niro Evaporator’s mid-to-low BTU residuals are currently solidified as a non-hazardous solid in a Subtitle D Landfill, although partnerships are underway to re-use this solid in a new Waste-to-Energy program. The goal is for all concentrate streams that leave our facility to be re-used to achieve full sustainability.

Also, in addressing the dissolved organics in wastewater, we employ the area’s largest and most capable Biological treatment system. This allows us to service wastewater with higher ammonia or organic levels — typically defined as Waters with Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) — before they are discharged. This smart system also recognizes a continuously “trainable” amount of other, specific organic compounds, which can be handled to complete the wastewater treatment process.

Because of the scale of our operation in Dayton, all the treatment systems are covered by a negative air pressure RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer). Our expansive RTO captures all process emissions, heats the pollutants and compounds to 1560°F+ and transforms them into benign CO2 (carbon dioxide) and water vapor. The RTO sets us solidly in place for our continued efforts towards Title 5 permitting. Title 5 permits are a component of the Clean Air Act, which governs the control of air pollutants.

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