How to Dispose of Aerosol Cans: A Complete Guide

The convenience of Aerosol cans makes them quite appealing for a variety of projects. Their smaller storage capacity and ability to spray without any additional equipment make them convenient and efficient for touch- up painting, occasional one- time projects, or for applying lubricants and similar products in recessed areas. However, one downside of aerosol cans is that they can have flammable contents, so it is important to dispose of them safely and this should be done with caution. In this guide, we cover the disposal of Aerosol cans both for small-quantity use and large-quantity use in household, business, and industrial settings.

• Before disposing of your aerosol can, ensure it is completely empty. When an aerosol can is completely empty, you will not hear any hissing or sound of material in the can when you shake it. In the home setting, you shouldn’t attempt to puncture your aerosol can as this can be dangerous without a proper tool to dispose of aerosol cans.

• If you hold down the button on the can and run out of propellant (the can stops hissing) but still think there is propellant or product left in the can, then it would be best to take the can to a special collection center for hazardous chemicals since the contents of the can may have flammable components that are best disposed of by center with proper equipment to do so.

• If the can contained a flammable liquid or liquid that is normally considered hazardous waste, you should also always consider taking it to a special collection center for hazardous chemicals even if the can seems to be empty. While there are no federal regulations requiring you to do this in the residential setting, it is best for the safety of you and others to ensure no accidental issues occur with the flammable or hazardous contents of the aerosol can.

Additionally, the cans themselves are not considered hazardous; however, the materials in the can that need to be disposed of can be considered hazardous so the rules below are for disposing of the can, you still need an effective plan to properly dispose of the contents of the cans which will depend on whether the contents of the cans are considered hazardous or not. If they are , you would need to dispose of the cans contents into a proper hazardous material disposal option. For low-volume users (a facility that produces less than 5000 KG of universal waste at any time), regulation 40 CFR 273.13€ applies. For higher-volume users, 40 CFR 27.33 (e) applies. Below are highlights of the rules which are the same for both small- and high-quantity generators, however, it is always best to refer to the regulations above for the best guidance. Additionally as mentioned above, this refers to the disposal of the can itself, not the material in the can which is often hazardous and will need to be disposed of accordingly, this could be emptying the material into a hazardous disposal drum or if non-hazardous disposing of the contents of the cans in a proper non-hazardous waste disposal solution. One important tip when emptying an aerosol can in an industrial setting, it is typically best not to simply hold the can’s trigger until the can is empty as this can cause your use to be considered hazardous waste handling.

Permissible Activity - Actuators on your Aerosol may be removed to reduce the riskof accidental release

• Manufacturers' specs and instructions aremaintained onsite

• Employees are properly trained

• Puncturing is done in a way to prevent fire or harmfulenvironmental releases

• The container holding the residual waste meetsapplicable RCRA standards for security, inspections, personnel training, andthe safe management of ignitable reactive incompatible wastes

• A hazardous waste determination is conducted on residual wastes and it is managed in accordance with any RCRA regulations

• A written procedure is developed for spill and leak cleanup

• A spill kit is provided and spills are cleaned up promptly  

As a business, disposing of Aerosol cans has a lot to consider. If you don’t use many aerosols and are a small business, it may not make sense to invest in a proper solution to puncture your aerosol cans and dispose of or recycle them. However, if you frequently use aerosol cans or you are a large organization, puncturing the cans, recycling them, and reducing the amount of potentially hazardous waste that you have to dispose of could provide quite a cost savings.