Who is responsible for environmental problems?
Liability for environmental violations rests on the waste generator—the company using the industrial wiper or shop towel—not the industrial laundry or the waste hauler. The common misperception among many companies has been that as long as they used rental shop towels and sent them to an industrial laundry, they were free of liability. This is not the case; companies have responsibility even after the towels and wipers have left their property. But the good news is that compliance to the new rule will be relatively simple, as long as users follow a few procedures. See accompanying section “EPA Rule at a Glance.” Companies that generate less than 250 pounds of solvents per month are exempt from the rule. Companies with more than 250 pounds per month should note that wipers and rental towels follow different procedures depending on how the wipers are to be treated (i.e., municipal landfill, incineration, industrial laundry, etc.). Under the new rule, pre-treatment practices are required
