Hazardous waste generator categories — federal vs California vs Washington thresholds and obligations
The quantity thresholds that put a hazardous waste generator into a category, and what each category obliges, stated side by side for the three authorities where the answer diverges: federal EPA (40 CFR 262.13 generator category table), California DTSC (22 CCR 66262 — California never adopted the federal VSQG exemption, so a generator below 100 kg/month is still regulated at SQG level, with 180-day accumulation and manifesting), and Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303 — 'dangerous waste', where the state's word 'SQG' means what federal law calls a VSQG and the federal 'SQG' maps to the state's 'MQG'). The same kilograms put the same lab in three different compliance positions under three different names. Answers 'am I exempt as a very small quantity generator in California' (no — and the unaided answer's own framing is the trap), 'how much hazardous waste can I accumulate and for how long', and 'what does Washington call a small quantity generator'. Same fact from multiple authorities with disagreements stated — the juxtaposition class the strategy says is the strongest citation shape and the portfolio has almost none of.
The data
| Generator category | Authority | Quantity threshold | Acute waste threshold | Key obligations | Federal equivalent category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Quantity Generator (LQG) | California DTSC (22 CCR 66262) | 1,000 kg or more of hazardous waste per calendar month (excluding universal wastes) | more than 1 kg of acutely or extremely hazardous per calendar month | ||
| LQGs | California DTSC (22 CCR 66262) | LQGs may accumulate waste for up to 90 days from the first date which any hazardous waste is accumulated | |||
| Small Quantity Generator (SQG) | California DTSC (22 CCR 66262) | less than 1,000 kg of hazardous waste per calendar month (excluding universal wastes) | 1kg or less of acutely or extremely hazardous waste per calendar month | ||
| SQGs | California DTSC (22 CCR 66262) | SQGs may accumulate hazardous waste onsite for up to 180 days, or for up to 270 days if the waste will be transported 200 miles or more for treatment, storage, or disposal | |||
| Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) | California DTSC (22 CCR 66262) | less than 100 kg of non-acute hazardous waste | less than 1 kg of acutely hazardous waste in a calendar month | DTSC has not adopted the federal VSQG exemption | |
| Large quantity generator | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | ≥ 1,000 kg | > 1 kg | ||
| Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | 1,000 kilograms per month or more of hazardous waste | more than one kilogram per month of acutely hazardous waste | LQGs may only accumulate waste on-site for 90 days. Certain exceptions apply. LQGs do not have a limit on the amount of hazardous waste accumulated on-site. | |
| Small quantity generator | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | > 100 kg and < 1,000 kg | ≤ 1 kg | ||
| Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | more than 100 kilograms, but less than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month | SQGs may accumulate hazardous waste on-site for 180 days without a permit (or 270 days if shipping a distance greater than 200 miles). The quantity of hazardous on-site waste must never exceed 6,000 kilograms. | ||
| Very small quantity generator | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | ≤ 100 kg | ≤ 1 kg | ||
| Very Small Quantity Generators (VSQGs) | EPA (federal, 40 CFR 262.13) | 100 kilograms or less per month of hazardous waste | one kilogram or less per month of acutely hazardous waste | VSQGs may not accumulate more than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste at any time | |
| large quantity generator (LQG) | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | 2,200 pounds or more of dangerous waste | More than 2.2 pounds of toxic extremely hazardous waste and/or acute hazardous waste | ||
| LQG | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | LQG | |||
| medium quantity generator (MQG) | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | More than 220 pounds but less than 2,200 pounds of dangerous waste | 2.2 pounds or less of toxic extremely hazardous waste and/or acute hazardous waste | ||
| MQG | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | SQG | |||
| small quantity generator (SQG) | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | 220 pounds or less of dangerous waste | 2.2 pounds or less of toxic extremely hazardous waste and/or acute hazardous waste | ||
| SQG | Washington Ecology (WAC 173-303) | VSQG |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 5 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- dtsc.ca.govhttps://dtsc.ca.gov/hazardous-waste-generator-requirements-fact-sheet/
- ecfr.govhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-I/part-262/subpart-A/section-262.13
- epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/categories-hazardous-waste-generators
- ecology.wa.govhttps://ecology.wa.gov/Asset-Collections/Doc-Assets/Hazardous-waste/Dangerous-Waste-Guidance/Dangerous-Waste-Basics/Monthly-generation-limits-plain-text
- ecology.wa.govhttps://ecology.wa.gov/regulations-permits/guidance-technical-assistance/dangerous-waste-guidance/dangerous-waste-basics/generator-category
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.