EI Digest Honors Joe Chalhoub With Leadership Award

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 9, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Joe Chalhoub, Founder, President,
CEO and Director of Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq:HCCI), was honored with the
EI Digest Leadership Award at the EI Digest Gathering in Tampa, FL.

The EI Digest Leadership Award recognizes the contribution that individuals have
made to the management of hazardous waste in North America. This year's
recipient, Mr. Joe Chalhoub, has a long history in the environmental services
industry. In 1999, Mr. Chalhoub and the Heritage Group founded Heritage-Crystal
Clean, LLC, an environmental services company that successfully completed an
Initial Public Offering on the NASDAQ in 2008. Heritage-Crystal Clean provides
parts cleaning, waste disposal, used oil services, vacuum services and various
other essential services to a growing list of U.S. businesses.

Joe started his career with Shell Canada as a process engineer, and he then
worked for several years at SNC, an engineering firm. In 1977, he founded
Breslube Enterprises and built this into the largest used oil re-refiner in
North America before selling a controlling interest to Safety-Kleen in 1987. Mr.
Chalhoub then served as a senior executive of Safety-Kleen from 1987 to 1998 and
ultimately the President of the Company.

Following the presentation of the Leadership Award, Joe delivered a presentation
on the history and challenges of the used oil re-refining business in the United
States. Joe recently announced that Heritage-Crystal Clean was considering
developing its own used oil re-refining capabilities.

About Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc.

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. provides parts cleaning, hazardous and
non-hazardous waste services to small and mid-sized customers in both the
manufacturing and automotive service sectors. Our service programs include parts
cleaning, containerized waste management, used oil collection, and vacuum truck
services. These services help our customers manage their used chemicals and
liquid and solid wastes, while also helping to minimize their regulatory
burdens. Our customers include businesses involved in vehicle maintenance
operations, such as car dealerships, automotive repair shops, and trucking
firms, as well as small manufacturers, such as metal product fabricators and
printers. Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, and
operates through 58 branches serving over 39,000 customer locations.

The Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4974

-0-
CONTACT: EI Digest and EI Digest Gathering
Arlette Barnhiser
(952) 831-2473

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc.
Greg Ray, CFO and VP Business Management
(847) 836-5670