Needham Growth Conference January 10-12th, 2012, New York City - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

| Clean Technologies | Communications | Consumer | Enterprise Infrastructure | Healthcare | | Industrial & Diversified Growth | Semiconductors & Equipment | Software & Services | The Fourteenth Annual Needham Growth Conference January 10-12th, 2012, New York City Heritage – Crystal Clean, Inc. (HCCI) Q3 2011 The Leading Growth Company Focused Investment Bank for 27 Years

Safe Harbor Statement This presentation contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current management expectations. Generally, the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan,“ "project," "should," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," "would" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other important factors include, among others: our ability to complete our used oil re- refinery as anticipated; we are unable to generate sufficient funds to build and support our used oil re-refinery; the used oil re-refinery does not perform as anticipated; our ability to comply with the extensive environmental, health and safety, and employment laws and regulations that our Company is subject to; changes in environmental laws that affect our business model; competition; claims relating to our handling of hazardous substances; the limited demand for our used solvent; our dependency on key employees; our ability to effectively manage our extended demand for our used solvent; our dependency on key employees; our ability to effectively manage our extended network of branch locations; warranty expense and liability claims; personal injury litigation; dependency on suppliers; economic conditions including the recent recession and financial crisis, and downturns in the business cycles of automotive repair shops, industrial manufacturing business and small businesses in general; increased solvent, fuel and energy costs and volatility in the price of crude oil; the control of The Heritage Group over our Company; and the risks identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 4, 2011. Given these uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update or revise them or provide reasons why actual results may differ. The information in this presentation should be evaluated in light of such risks and in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in our filings with the SEC and available on our website. This presentation refers to historical Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) on pages 6 and 34; reconciliations of EBITDA to our net income determined according to U.S. GAAP can be found on our website, www.crystal-clean.com, in the Investor Relations section. HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 2

HCCI Introduction 3

HCCI Overview � Provider of industrial and hazardous waste services to small and mid-sized customers � 2nd largest provider of parts cleaning services � Also a leading provider of containerized waste, used oil and vacuum services � Customers outsource the handling and disposal of parts cleaning solvents and containerized waste to HCCI; allows them to focus on core business � 67 branches primarily in the eastern and central portions of the U.S. – – Service more than 44,000 customer locations Service more than 44,000 customer locations � Focus on small industrial manufacturers (i.e., metal product fabricators and printers) and vehicle maintenance providers (i.e., car dealerships and automotive repair shops) � Services reduce the volume of hazardous waste generated and associated regulatory burden for its customers � Strong recurring revenue business with substantial majority of parts cleaning revenues under automatically renewing service contracts � Constructing a used oil re-refinery to leverage used oil collection business, expected to drive revenue growth with improved margins HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 4

Highly Experienced Management Team Years of Years of Years at Name Position/Experience Industry Used Oil Company Experience Experience � President, CEO and Director, founder of Heritage-Crystal Clean Joseph Chalhoub 11 30+ 30+ � Former President of Safety-Kleen � CFO, VP of Business Management and Secretary Greg Ray 11 25+ 25+ � Formerly VP of Business Management at Safety-Kleen � VP of Sales and Marketing John Lucks 11 30+ 11+ � Served as the VP of Industrial Marketing and Business Management at Safety-Kleen Management at Safety-Kleen � VP of Operations Tom Hillstrom 8 20+ 19+ � Formerly responsible for the Management of Several Recycling Plants and Strategic Planning and Acquisitions at Safety-Kleen � VP of Engineering Glenn Casbourne 2 25+ 25+ � Served as VP Engineering for Safety-Kleen and Project Manager for E. Chicago re-refinery � VP of Sales and Service Division 1 Mike DeAngelis 11 35+ 25+ � Previously in charge of $400 mm Sales Division at Safety-Kleen � VP of Sales and Service Division 2 Glenn Jones 10 25+ 24+ � Previously oversaw $300 mm Sales Division at Safety-Kleen HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 5

Improving Financial Momentum ($ in millions) EBITDA (1) Sales YTD +29% $11.4 $11.8 $108.1 $98.4 $112.1 $12.0 $10.3 $120.0 $98.0 $89.7 $8.1 $7.4 $76.1 $7.2 $73.7 $80.0 $8.0 $6.3 $59.2 $4.7 $40.0 $4.0 $0.0 $0.0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Q1-3 Q1-3 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Q1-3 Q1-3 2010 2011 2010 2011 Operating Income (1) Net Income (1,2) $5.0 $4.5 $4.3 $8.6 $8.2 $10.0 $3.3 $5.7 $5.6 $2.5 $2.3 $4.0 $2.5 $1.8 $1.7 $5.0 $3.1 $3.0 $2.7 $1.1 $0.0 $0.0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Q1-3 Q1-3 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Q1-3 Q1-3 2010 2011 2010 2011 (1) 2007 figures exclude inventory impairment charge, independent investigation charge and gain on contract termination of $2.2 million, $0.9 million and $3.0 million, respectively. 2008 figures exclude inventory impairment charge and non-cash stock based compensation issued at IPO of $2.8 million and $3.2 million, respectively. (2) Assumes Company was a C-Corporation in all periods represented. 2008 figure reflects add backs of the $2.2 million one-time charge related to the reorganization from LLC to C-Corporation and $372 thousand charge on preferred and mandatorily redeemable capital units. 2008 adjustments tax adjusted at 40%. HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 6

Investment Highlights Well Positioned in � $6B+ market opportunity Large, Growing � Focused on underserved small- and mid-sized business market Market � Proven, Highly Proven, highly experienced management team � Experienced Executive team comprised of same individuals who played a major role in building Safety-Kleen Management Team into a $2B market cap company prior to its sale to Laidlaw in 1998 � Non-hazardous and product reuse programs reduce regulatory burden on customers and provide Superior Value cost savings Proposition � Differentiated customer service focus creates long-term client relationships � Substantial used oil re-refining market opportunity � Further growth from existing branches Multiple Avenues � for Growth Geographic expansion; still expanding in the eastern half of the U.S. � New product and service extensions � Recurring revenue model; substantial majority of parts cleaning revenues under automatically renewing service contracts Compelling � Historical revenue growth rates in excess of 15% (2000-2010) Financial Model � Improving route density and overhead leverage drive earnings growth HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 7

Industry 8

Large, Attractive Market Market Addressed by HCCI (1) Key Characteristics � 800,000 establishments in the U.S. Parts Cleaning engaged in manufacturing or vehicle maintenance (2) Vacuum 9% Services � Establishments need to remove grease 9% and dirt from engine parts with solvent � Establishments generate used oil or Industrial 48% Hazardous waste paint which cannot be poured Waste down the drain 33% Used Oil Services & Used Oil � For small- and medium-sized Re-Refining generators, it is more cost-effective to outsource to HCCI than manage themselves Total Market = $6.0 billion (1) Source: Management estimates. (2) Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2007. HCCI Presentation to Needham Growth Conference 1-12-2012 9