History

In 1976, Congress enacted RCRA to address the

problems associated with waste management and

disposal. After World War II, industrial growth and

consumer demand for new products increased dramatically in the United States. With the demand for

and use of new products made of plastic, nylon,

paper, and aluminum goods, came an increase in

waste generation. At the end of World War II, about

500,000 metric tons of hazardous waste were generated yearly in the United States. Current estimates place the annual generation rate at 279 million metric tons. Congress tasked EPA with creating

regulations under RCRA governing the safe management of the huge volumes of municipal and industrial waste being generated in the United States. 

The RCRA statute as it appears today was developed over time. The following are the major laws

and amendments that are collectively known today

as RCRA:

● 1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act 

● 1970 Resource Recovery Act 

● 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

● 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments.

The RCRA Statute

To meet the goals of RCRA, Congress divided the

RCRA statute into subtitles to address particular

aspects of waste generation and management:

● Subtitle C contains regulations for management

of hazardous wastes. 

● Subtitle D establishes criteria for disposal of 

solid (mainly nonhazardous) wastes, such as

household wastes.

● Subtitle I contains regulations for the management of underground storage tanks storing 

hazardous substances (e.g., methanol) and 

petroleum products (e.g., diesel fuel). 

The enclosed fact sheets summarize the 

hazardous waste program under Subtitle C.

“Cradle-to-Grave” Management

The Subtitle C program establishes management

standards in a “cradle-to-grave” system. Hazardous

wastes are regulated from the point of generation

(“cradle”) until final deposition (“grave”) to ensure

protection of human health and the environment. 

In order to ensure safe management of hazardous

waste, EPA has developed regulations for hazardous

waste generation, transportation, treatment, storage,

and disposal. 

Purpose of This Folder

The purpose of this folder is to provide education

and outreach to the general public about EPA’s hazardous waste management program under RCRA.

The enclosed fact sheets provide a basic overview

of EPA’s hazardous waste regulations, and the folder

includes regional and state hazardous waste contacts. For more information on the hazardous waste

regulations, you may contact the RCRA Hotline at

800 424-9346, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

of hazardous waste. Wastes are considered hazardous by EPA if they exhibit certain characteristics or if they have been placed on a list of hazardous wastes. EPA

makes sure that hazardous wastes are safely managed through the development

of regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Goals of RCRA

● To protect human health and the environment

● To reduce waste while conserving energy and natural 

● To reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous wa
To find out more about EPA’s hazardous waste

program, consult the following resources:

RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA Hotline

800 424-9346 or TDD 800 553-7672

In the Washington, DC area: 703 412-9810 

or TDD 703 412-3323

Web site: www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hotline

Other Internet Resources

EPA’s Office of Solid Waste Web site:

www.epa.gov/osw

Additional Documents (ordering 

information available from the RCRA,

Superfund & EPCRA Hotline):

● Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Parts 260-299

● RCRA Orientation Manual (EPA530-R-98-004)

● RCRA: Reducing Risk from Waste (EPA530-K-97-004)

● Understanding the Hazardous Waste Rules: A

Handbook for Small Businesses (EPA530-K-95-001)
United States Environmental Protection Agency

Solid Waste and Emergency Response

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (5305W)

Washington, DC 20460

EPA530-E-00-001

October 2000

www.epa.gov/osw Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fibe