Each pound of meth produced leaves behind five or six pounds of toxic waste.   Meth cooks often pour leftover chemicals and byproduct sludge down drains in nearby plumbing, storm drains, or directly onto the ground.   Chlorinated solvents and other toxic byproducts used to make meth pose long-term hazards because they can persist in soil and groundwater for years. Clean-up costs are exorbitant because solvent contaminated soil usually must be incinerated.

The location of a clandestine laboratory, no matter how small, becomes a toxic waste site.  The cleanup must be done by specially trained meth-certified law enforcement officers or similarly trained hazmat teams.  The former presence of a meth lab must be disclosed to real estate buyers.  It is the responsibility of the property owner to have the lab cleaned up at their own expense.

Cleanups of labs are extremely resource-intensive and beyond the financial capabilities of most jurisdictions. The average cost of a cleanup is about $5,000 but some cost as much as $150,000.

Guidelines for Cleaning up former Methamphetamine Labs.