PERC waste disposal requirements for dry cleaners

PERC Pointer #2 - PERC Waste Disposal Practices

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Remove waste at least once every 12 months!

What?

Tetrachloroethylene (PERC) waste water (which you do not treat on site) and all residues must be transported to a waste management facility at least once every 12 months.

When you ship waste water and residue from your facility, you must include all waste water and residue created since the last transport.

If you treat waste water on site, the treatment system must have the equipment described in section 8(1)(b) of the Regulations.

How?

Hazardous waste transporters and waste management facilities are authorized by provinces and territories. Licensed waste transporters can take away your drums and supply you with new drums each visit.

Shipping documents such as the movement document/manifest must be part of your records and kept for at least five years.

Why?

Storing hazardous waste on site can pose a threat to the environment and to human health. When waste is stored on site, there is a risk of accidents, spills or leaks.

These risks can be minimized by storing hazardous waste and products safely and by regular treatment or transportation of waste.

Note: The requirements of provincial, municipal or local authorities concerning the disposal of treated effluent must also be respected. For example, authorization from municipal sewer authorities or provincial/territorial governments may be required to dispose of the treated effluent.

Please contact your regional Environment Canada office if you have any questions or concerns:

Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
promo-alt-compro@ec.gc.ca

Quebec
perc-qc@ec.gc.ca

Ontario
promcon-on-compro@ec.gc.ca

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut
perc-rpn-perc-pnr@ec.gc.ca

British Columbia, Yukon
perc-py-perc@ec.gc.ca

Submit your annual reports by April 30 to produits-products@ec.gc.ca.

Regulatory Compliance

Environment Canada undertakes regular inspections in order to verify compliance with the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and its regulations. Investigations are conducted when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation has occurred. For further information, consult the Compliance and Enforcement Policy for CEPA.

This document is neither an official version of nor a substitute for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 or the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations. Please refer to the Regulations to determine your full legal obligations. 

For information regarding reproduction rights, please contact Environment and Climate Change Canada's Inquiry Centre at 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only) or 819-938-3860 or email to enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca.

Also available in French, Persian, Chinese (traditional) and Korean.

ISBN: 978-0-660-37712-4   Cat No: EN14-206/3-2021E-PDF