(a) This part applies to any plastics molding and forming process that discharges or may discharge pollutants to waters of the United States or that introduces pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works. Plastics molding and forming processes include processes that blend, mold, form, or otherwise process plastic materials into intermediate or final plastic products. They include commonly recognized processes such as extrusion, molding, coating and laminating, thermoforming, calendering, casting, foaming, cleaning, and finishing.

(b) Plastics molding and forming processes (e.g., extrusion and pelletizing) used by plastics resin manufacturers to process crude intermediate plastic material for shipment off-site are excluded from this regulation and regulated under the organic chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers category. Plastics molding and forming processes used by plastic resin manufacturers to process crude intermediate plastic materials, which are further processed on-site into intermediate or final plastics products in molding and forming processes, are controlled by the effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the plastics molding and forming category in this part.

(c) Processes that coat a plastic material onto a substrate may fall within the definition of electroplating and metal finishing as defined in 40 CFR parts 413 and 433. These coating processes are excluded from the effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the electroplating and metal finishing point source categories and are subject to the plastics molding and forming regulation in this part.

(d) Coating of plastic material onto a formed metal substrate is also covered by the plastics molding and forming effluent limitations guidelines and standards and is not covered by the specific metal forming guidelines such as aluminum forming (40 CFR part 467), copper forming (40 CFR part 468), and nonferrous metals forming (40 CFR part 471). However, the plastics molding and forming effluent limitations guidelines and standards in this part apply only to the coating process; the metal forming operations are subject to the specific metal forming regulation.

(e) Research and development laboratories that produce plastic products using a plastics molding and forming process are subject to the effluent limitations guidelines and standards in this part if the plastics molding and forming process discharges process water. The mass of plastic product produced in the plastics molding and forming process is not considered when determining the applicability of the plastics molding and forming regulation in this part to plastics molding and forming processes at research and development laboratories.

(f) Chemical and thermal reticulation processes for polyurethane foam are not subject to the effluent limitations guidelines and standards in this part. Water used in those processes is not considered to be process water as defined in this regulation. Processes used to further mold or form the reticulated foam are subject, however, to this regulation if they discharge process water.

(g) Processes used to regenerate cellulose and to produce a product (e.g., rayon) from the regenerated cellulose are not subject to the effluent limitations guidelines and standards in this part. Processes that mold or form cellulose derivatives (e.g., cellulose acetate) are subject to the effluent limitations guidelines and standards in this part if they discharge process water.