For auto repair shops

Used oil and hazardous waste: get every tech doing it right

Used oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, solvents, batteries and contaminated rags all leave your shop as regulated waste. The rules land on you, but the handling happens with whoever is in the bay that day — often someone new, often someone who reads Spanish better than English.

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In short: Auto shops generate regulated waste and most independents fall under EPA small quantity generator rules, with containers required to be labeled and stored correctly and floor drains restricted from discharging shop fluids. Tiendo lets you record how your shop handles each of those tasks, in the language your techs read, with a dated record that each person confirmed it.

Where independent shops get exposed

OSHA governs how hazardous waste is handled and stored from a worker-safety standpoint, the EPA governs how it is classified, stored and disposed of, and in most states a third layer of state environmental rules sits on top. Most independent shops fall in the small quantity generator band, generating between 100 and 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste a month, and every container of hazardous waste must be clearly labeled with the words hazardous waste and a description of its contents.

Service bay floor drains are a separate exposure: they cannot discharge into storm drains or surface waters without a permit, and shop wastewater generally has to run through an oil-water separator that is properly sized and regularly cleaned.

The rules are yours, but the handling is done by whoever is in the bay — including new techs.
Containers get mislabeled or the wrong thing goes in, and that's a citation waiting to happen.
Someone rinses something into the floor drain because nobody told them not to.
Your crew doesn't all read English, and none of this is written down anywhere they'd look.

How Tiendo helps

Talk through how your shop does it — draining and storing used oil, what goes in which container and how it's labeled, rags and absorbents, what never goes near the floor drain, batteries and antifreeze. Tiendo turns each into a short routine, translates it into the languages your techs read, and posts it as a QR code by the waste area. Add a photo of a correctly labeled drum so it doesn't depend on reading at all. Each tech confirms they read and understood it.

One routine, every language your team speaks: EspañolKreyòlTiếng ViệtالعربيةPolski中文

How it works

Talk it in. Walk through how used oil, waste containers or spills are handled in your shop, out loud.
Get a clear routine. It becomes tidy steps, safety notes and checkpoints, then translates into your team's language — numbers and temperatures kept exact.
Your team reads and confirms. Post a QR code at the station or hand a new hire one link. They read it on their phone, come back to it anytime, and tap "read and understood."

Questions shop owners ask

What waste does an auto repair shop have to manage?

Used motor oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, solvents, batteries and contaminated shop rags are all regulated. Most independent shops fall under EPA small quantity generator rules, generating between 100 and 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month.

How must hazardous waste containers be labeled?

Every container holding hazardous waste must be clearly labeled with the words hazardous waste and a description of its contents.

Can shop fluids go down the floor drain?

No. Service bay floor drains cannot discharge into storm drains or surface waters without a permit, and wastewater generally has to pass through a properly sized and regularly cleaned oil-water separator.

Do I have to train techs on this in their language?

OSHA requires training on hazardous chemicals in the work area to be given in a manner and language employees can understand, so for a mixed-language crew the instruction needs to reach them in the language they read.

Does Tiendo handle my waste manifests or permits?

No. Tiendo is for teaching and documenting how the work is done. It does not file reports, track permits or manage manifests, and it does not guarantee any regulatory outcome.

Same handling, every tech, every day.

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