Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                Media Contact:  John Kyte
May 5, 2003                                          972-265-2030

SAFETY-KLEEN EXTENDS VOTING DEADLINE FOR REORGANIZATION PLAN

PLANO, TX - Safety-Kleen Corp. today announced that it has voluntarily  extended
until  July 25,  2003,  the  period  of time for  lenders  under  the  Company's
pre-petition secured credit facility to cast their votes regarding the Company's
proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The original deadline was May 2, 2003.

Safety-Kleen  voluntarily  filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 9, 2000,  and
the  disclosure  statement  associated  with the Company's  proposed  Chapter 11
reorganization  plan was approved by the U.S.  Bankruptcy Court for the District
of Delaware on March 20, 2003.

"As we have said all along, this is a large and complex  reorganization and some
of our lenders wanted additional time to develop an appropriate  credit facility
to support our emergence from Chapter 11," said Safety-Kleen  Chairman,  CEO and
President Ronald A. Rittenmeyer. "We wanted to accommodate them, so we asked the
Court to reschedule our May 5th confirmation hearing."

Rittenmeyer  explained that, due to the Bankruptcy Court's full calendar and the
amount of time requested by the lenders,  the Court rescheduled the confirmation
hearing for August 1, 2003.

"We're  encouraged by the strong  support for the plan we have seen to date and,
pending final Court approval,  we believe we can complete the remaining steps in
the bankruptcy court approval process within the third quarter of this year," he
added.

A copy of the  Court-approved  disclosure  statement  and  proposed  Chapter  11
reorganization   plan,   and  related   documents,   is  available   on-line  at
www.safety-kleen.com or at www.safetykleenplan.com.

Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act:
Sections of this release  constitute  forward-looking  statements that involve a
number of risks and  uncertainties.  Many factors could cause actual  results to
differ  materially  from our  expected  results.  These  factors  include  risks
associated with approval and implementation of the Joint Plan of Reorganization;
actual  emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy  protection;  continued  productive
relations  with  creditors;  the continued  availability  of credit;  changes in
demand for the Company's services; and competition.

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