- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- 1: Getting Ready
- 2: The Costs of Space
- 3: Understanding Credit
- 4: Professional Services
- 5: Finding Space
- 6: Residential Leases
- 7: Commercial and Industrial Leases
- 8: Buying Real Estate
- 9: Types of Mortgages
- 10: The Mortgage Application
- 11: Ownership Models
- 12: Purchasing Alternatives
- 13: Chicago Zoning Ordinance
- 14: Chicago Building Code
- 15: Chicago's Neighborhoods
- 16: Property Taxes
- 17: When You Find a Property
- 18: Inspections
- 19: After Moving In
- 20: Insurance
- 21: Utilities
- 22: Rehabbing Your Space
- 23: Safe and Healthy Spaces
- 24: Green Practice
- 25: When Disputes Arise
- 26: Space Emergencies
- 27: Facility Development Planning
- Bibliography
Art Waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the disposal of hazardous waste and industrial wastewater discharge through the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enforced by the states. In Illinois, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency enforces the Act.
Each category of hazardous waste producer includes a distinct set of rules and regulations that dictate how to dispose of waste. The EPA defines artists as Commercial Generators; this classification also applies to art businesses, academic institutions, community centers, and printmaking or photographic studios. Commercial generators are defined and regulated by the quantities of hazardous waste they generate.
There are four categories of commercial waste producers:
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Large Quantity Generators: Produce more than 1,000 kilograms (2205 lbs.) of hazardous waste per month. Very few small art studios fall into this category. Disposal requirements are available from the Illinois EPA.
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Small Quantity Generators: Produce more than 100 kg (22 lbs.) but less than 1,000 kg (2205 lbs.) of hazardous waste per month. The disposal requirements are similar to those for Large Quantity Generators.
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Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators: Produce less than 100 kg/month (22 lbs.) of hazardous waste, or less than 1 kg/month (2.2 lbs.) of acutely hazardous waste. Generators in this category must identify all hazardous waste they produce, treat their waste on-site or insure the waste is sent to an approved disposal facility.
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Household Hazardous Waste Generators: Exempt from federal hazardous waste regulations. This exemption allows individual citizens, including home-based artists and hobbyists, to discard materials into municipal waste streams. The EPA maintains that enforcement of laws and management of wastes generated by consumers in their households isn't realistic.
Though you might not be obligated by law to dispose of these materials as hazardous waste, the materials generated here nevertheless contribute to environmental degradation and health problems. Click here for Household Waste Disposal Solutions, and review the resources listed in this chapter for information on how to properly dispose of art waste. In addition, review Chapter 23: Safe and Healthy Spaces for additional information on how and where to dispose of hazardous art waste in Chicago.
The City of Chicago and the Illinois Environment Protection Agency co-sponsor a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program. During the spring and fall, the city sets up special sites to collect common household products that are harmful to the environment if disposed of improperly.
Contact the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation (312-744-4611) or the Illinois EPA’s Waste Reduction Unit (217-785-8604) for information on when the collections sites are available. An additional household hazardous waste site is open year-round in Naperville. For more information, contact 630-420-6700.
For disposal of non-household hazardous waste disposal sites
Handling hazardous materials
Hazardous Household Waste Collection
Disposing of latex paint