Waste disposal requirements & info for anodizing shop

A. Keith,

If you are talking about starting a legitimate business, then there are quite a few hoops to jump through, as far as waste is concerned. I cannot speak knowledgably on the regulations in N.M. But, here, in Idaho..in order to start an anodizing business, one must first get an air quality permit (DEQ) which, either shows that you have purchased an air scrubber (you WILL need one if you are bright dipping)or.. that your emissions will be below acceptable limits. You will also need to contact your POTW (publicly owned treatment works) an find out what your permissible limits for metals and ph discharge are, and get the applicable permit(s) All this info should be available from your local DEQ office, and your POTW. Most of the chemicals used in anodizing don't become a hazardous waste, and can be properly disposed of down the sewer by simple neutralization. I am not, however, familiar with "room temp" seals..I believe they are very inferior, and don't use them...so I'm not familiar with their chemistry. Once you get into dyeing, or different types of sealing..there may be heavy metal wastes to be concerned with. When you come to the point of contacting a Haz Waste Contractor.. you will need an EPA ID #...and YES.. there is a big paper trail...you will need to keep all testing records, disposal records..haz waste manifests, land bans, etc.. for a period of at LEAST 3 years...but... regardless.. no matter what any waste disposal contractors tell you.. YOU are responsible for anything that may happen with "your" waste, forever. Most Haz Waste contractors will tell you how much "insurance" they have.. but.. you'd be surprised how quickly 10 million gets eaten up during a waste clean-up.

I don't mean to discourage you , but.. I just wanted to prepare you for all the steps that need to be taken now-a-days, to get into "our" business. I would suggest that you look into the need for an anodizing shop in your area..contact your local machine shops...see what the "need" is...then.. read all you can on the subject of anodizing. Believe me...there are many challenges to this business..I've been doing this almost 15 yrs...and there are STILL challenges that are kicking my butt (but I haven't given up). Most times, the environmental stuff is the easy part. If you are just thinking of doing some work for your buddies.. stick with what you are doing, and trade them for a six-pack, or something... But..if you want to get into "the business" be prepared to open your wallet, and learn some hard lessons.. and be profitable. Just learn one thing.. its the little details that make a quality product.

A. No problem, Keith,

I think you have made a wise choice on putting off the bright-dip/electropolishing pretreatments..at least, for now. Try and master one thing at a time in the anodizing process..then..perhaps, move on to the aforementioned pretreatments. One of the major dye suppliers offers a FREE 3 day anodizing seminar, for someone just starting out, it would be worth your time to attend. There are also books available on this website that will give you a better understanding of the anodizing process, I would suggest that you purchase them, as they are quite informative. Perhaps hiring a consultant (there is a consultant link, on the homepage of Finishing.Com), once you are ready to build your line will help too. Drew Nosti also comes to mind. While this will cost you a little bit up front, believe me, its well worth it, as you will gain from from many years of experience, and will avoid the mistakes that can be made by someone whom hasn't had much experience in starting! /operating a production anodizing shop.

Good luck, Keith!