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Regulated Garbage

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To protect agriculture and natural resources from the introduction and spread of

plant and animal pests and diseases, APHIS regulates garbage generated onboard

conveyances (ocean vessels and aircraft) arriving from any place outside of the

continental United States, except Canada.

Specifically, APHIS regulates garbage generated onboard conveyances that have:

Been at any port outside the U.S. and Canada within the previous 2-year period;

or

Moved to or from Hawaii, U.S. territories, or possessions within the previous 1-

year period.

Regulated garbage includes all waste material derived whole or in part from fruits,

vegetables, meats or other plant or animal (including poultry) material, and other

refuse of any character that has been associated with any such material.

For more information, contact your State or local Regulated Garbage Lead (180.66

KB) or State Plant Health Director.

Handling Regulated Garbage
Conveyances arriving in the United States must follow APHIS-approved regulated

garbage handling activities to offload, transport, store, and process regulated

garbage for disposal. APHIS provides technical advice and assistance in evaluating

entities that express interest in handling regulated garbage. APHIS also helps U.S.

based companies that have demonstrated compliance with APHIS regulated garbage

regulations obtain compliance agreements. Regardless of the activities performed,

all regulated garbage compliance agreement holders must meet the same basic

requirements for operating procedures, marking garbage, recyclable materials, and

handling regulated garbage spills.

APHIS works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to ensure appropriate

and consistent handling of regulated garbage at U.S. ports of entry and elsewhere.

Compliance Agreements for Handling or Processing Regulated Garbage

A compliance agreement is a signed, written, legal agreement issued by CBP or

APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) personnel to facilities that APHIS has

approved to handle regulated garbage. A compliance agreement consists of PPQ

Form 519 Compliance Agreement and all the required addenda, including the

company operating procedure. Compliance agreements and addenda are used to

formalize agreements with caterers, garbage haulers, garbage processors, and other

entities responsible for handling or processing regulated garbage. The compliance

agreement indicates the facility understands the methods, conditions, and

procedures necessary to comply with APHIS regulations.

Important: Applicants must also contact local, State, and federal agencies for their

requirements to handle garbage.

Requesting APHIS Approval to Handle or Process Regulated Garbage

Establishments/companies should use the APHIS Regulated Garbage Compliance

Agreement for Approval Template (610.37 KB) to apply for APHIS approval to handle

regulated garbage under a compliance agreement. The following documents are

linked in the template and provided below for quick reference:

Procedure to Request Approval to Handle Regulated Garbage (207.28 KB)

Guidelines for Writing Operating Procedures for APHIS Regulated Garbage

(232.68 KB)
APHIS Authorized Disinfectants for Use When Handling APHIS Regulated

Garbage (192.34 KB)

Guidelines for Regulated Garbage Record-Keeping (211.05 KB)

Guidelines for Regulated Garbage Written Training Program (120.17 KB)

No Free Ride Video (English video, Spanish video, Mandarin Chinese video)

Procedures for Companies Requesting Approval to Transport Regulated

Garbage Interstate (22.97 KB)

Applicants should also review the following policy and guidance documents:

Airlines

Foodstuffs Onboard Aircraft Exempted from Removal as Regulated

Garbage (135.87 KB)

Back-Catering Frequently Asked Questions

Maritime vessels

Procedures for Purging Stores, 24 Hour Rule and APHIS Regulated Garbage

(301.56 KB)

Regulated garbage processors

Requesting Approval to Use New Technology for Handling Regulated

Garbage (122.95 KB)

Requesting changes to compliance agreement

Procedures for Informing APHIS of a Company Name Change/Change in

Ownership (218.96 KB)

Requesting Approval to Store Regulated Garbage More than 120 Hours

(121.62 KB)

Voluntary Relinquishment of a Regulated Garbage Compliance Agreement

(150.58 KB)

Recycling exemption

USDA APHIS Recycling Material Exemption (135.3 KB)

Send requests to apply to handle regulated garbage to

ppq.ops.regulated.garbage@usda.gov.

Compliance Agreement Monitoring

Compliance agreements covering regulated garbage handling are valid from the

date of agreement (box 10 on PPQ Form 519). Once your agreement is valid, APHIS
or CBP officials may:

Monitor newly approved compliance agreement handlers for the first year from

the time of approval and every six months after that depending on the results

of the monitoring.

Monitor existing compliance agreement holders every six months.

Conduct unscheduled monitoring compliance visits as they deem necessary.

Questions?

If you have questions or need more information about handling regulated garbage,

contact your State or local Regulated Garbage Lead (180.66 KB) or State Plant

Health Director.