Shipping Hazardous Materials: A Guide How to Properly Package & Send Packages with Hazardous Materials

When was the last time you threw on some cologne (or perfume) for a hot date? Hopefully, it wasn’t too long ago…but that’s beside the point! Most people don’t realize it, but cologne and perfume are examples of products containing hazardous materials. When it comes to shipping these kinds of products, there are a number of restrictions and guidelines you’ll have to meet. Let’s throw on the safety gloves and dive right in, shall we?

Table of Contents

• What are Hazardous Materials?
• How Can I Ship Products with Hazardous Materials?
• Why You’re Typically Limited to Ground Service When Sending Hazardous Materials

What are Hazardous Materials?

Let’s start off with a simple definition. A hazardous material is any kind of material that poses an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property. The US Department of Transportation has broken down hazardous materials into nine different classes. We’ve listed those below.

• Explosives – Class 1
• Gases – Class 2
• Flammable and Combustible Liquids – Class 3
• Flammable Solids – Class 4
• Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides – Class 5
• Toxic Substances and Infectious Substances – Class 6
• Radioactive Materials – Class 7
• Corrosives – Class 8
• Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials – Class 9

How Can I Ship Products with Hazardous Materials?

Products with hazardous materials are subject to certain transportation restrictions you’ll need to follow. For example, you’re not able to ship them on an airplane. Instead, they are required to be transported on the ground using shipping services like USPS Ground Advantage service. However, that’s assuming you’re even able to ship your items domestically in the first place. Some hazardous materials, such as explosives, are prohibited from air AND surface transportation! Also, you can’t ship products containing hazardous materials internationally.

Four Steps to Follow

If you’re shipping out products containing hazardous materials, follow these five steps below:

1. Figure out whether a material meets the definition of a hazardous material
2. Identify the Class and Identification Number
3. Package your item properly based on your materials
4. Apply a hazard warning label to your package
5. Purchase a USPS Ground Advantage label either at the Post Office, USPS.com, or through online shipping software for the deepest discounts on postage

Pro Tip: Each shipment of a hazardous material may require additional shipping papers, emergency response information, certifications, and other requirements like security plans and compatibility guarantees. Fortunately, most shipping carriers will satisfy a lot of these requirements and won’t require you (the shipper) to work through the details. However, it’s always important to guarantee your package leaves your facility or residence in its required packaging.

Properly Packaging These Types of Shipments

Items with hazardous materials can pose serious problems if they take damage or break during transportation. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you package them properly. Firstly, you’ll want to use a brand-new corrugated cardboard box. We then recommend that you use proper packing material on the inside of your package, such as plenty of bubble wrap, or even custom mold inserts which keep your items from shifting around during transit. The more protective material you use, the better chance you have of your shipment arriving at its final destination intact!

Why You’re Typically Limited to Ground Service When Sending Hazardous Materials

When shipping hazardous materials, you’ll almost always need to ship them via ground service, no matter which shipping carrier you choose (UPS and FedEx will also limit you to their ground services when sending hazardous items). Due to safety concerns, carriers won’t allow certain materials aboard airplanes, such as flammable liquids or aerosols, so they created protocols to limit parcels with hazardous materials to ground transportation only. Since this is the case, you also typically can’t send any packages containing hazardous materials internationally!