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RCRA and Pharmaceutical 

Waste Management: 

A Brief Federal Overview

Lisa Lauer (EPA)

Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery

Lauer.lisa@epa.gov; 703-308-7418
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What is RCRA?

• RCRA = Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Goals:

– To protect HH&E from the potential hazards of waste 

disposal

– To conserve energy and natural resources

– To reduce the amount of waste generated

– To ensure that wastes are managed in an 

environmentally sound manner
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RCRA: Regulations, Guidance and Policy

• EPA translates the RCRA “the Act” passed by congress 

into regulations

• Guidance documents are issued by EPA to provide 

instructions on how to implement RCRA requirements. 

Guidance documents can also be EPA’s interpretations 

of RCRA.

• Policy statements outline EPA’s position on a topic or 

give instructions on how a procedure should be 

conducted

Guidance and policy documents are posted at: 

www.epa.gov/rcraonline
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Solid Wastes (Subtitle D)

• Solid waste (non-hazardous)

– Garbage, refuse, sludges, industrial wastes and other discarded 

materials

– Solid wastes can be solid, semi-solid, liquid or gaseous

– A solid waste is a material that is discarded by being either 

abandoned, inherently waste-like, a certain military munitions or 

recycled

• Solid waste management is predominantly regulated at 

the state/local level

• EPA recommends a hierarchical approach to SW 

management: source reduction, recycling/reuse, 

treatment
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Hazardous Wastes (Subtitle C)

• Federal regulations for generators, transporters and 

treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs)

– 40 CFR 260-266, 268, 270-272

– A state can be authorized by EPA to run the subtitle C program

• EPA reviews each state’s program, and if it is at least as stringent 

as the federal program, the state is granted the authority to run its 

own program in lieu of the federal program

• There are no RCRA regulations that are specifically 

directed toward hospitals or other health care facilities

– Health care facilities must comply with the same RCRA 

generator requirements as any other industry
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What Is a HW Under RCRA?

• To be a RCRA hazardous waste, the waste:

– Must first be considered a solid waste 

– Then it must either be

• Specifically listed (F, K, P or U-list – see slides #16-19); or

• exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic (ignitable, corrosive, 

reactive or toxic – see slides #20-21)

• Note: 

– It has been estimated that only 5-10% of the pharmaceuticals on 

the market are federal RCRA hazardous wastes 

– hazardous waste ≠ biohazardous waste

– hazardous waste ≠ hazardous drug
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HW Generators

• Generators (40 CFR 262) are divided into 3 categories 

depending on the amount of HW produced per month

– Large Quantity Generator (LQG)

– Small Quantity Generator (SQG)

– Conditionally-Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) (40 CFR 

261.5)

• It is the responsibility of the generator to identify, and 

appropriately manage, HW

• Link to a “user friendly” document which organizes all of the 

requirements by generator status 

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/downloads/tool.pdf
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Generator Requirements

CESQG SQG LQG 

Quantity

Handled by

Category

< 100 kg/Month

< 1 kg acute/month (P-listed)

< 1,000 kg/month

> 1,000 kg/month

>1 kg acute/month (P-listed)

EPA ID # Not required Required Required

On-Site

Accumulation

Limit 

< 1,000 kg

< 1 kg acute

< 100 kg spill residue from 

acute

< 6,000 kg No quantity limit

Accumulation

Time Limit

(without a storage

permit)

None < 180 days or

< 270 days < 90 days

Manifest Not required Required Required

Personnel

Training Not required Basic training Full training
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Generator Requirements (cont.)

CESQG SQG LQG 

Storage

Requirements None Basic requirements Full compliance

Send to: 

State approved solid waste 

facility or

RCRA

permitted/interim

status facility

RCRA

permitted/interim

status facility

RCRA

permitted/interim

status facility

Biennial

Reporting Not required Not required Required

Contingency

Plan Not required Basic plan Full plan

Emergency

Procedures Not required Required Full plan required

DOT Hazmat 

Transport

Requirements 

Yes 

(if required by DOT) Yes Yes
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Where Do Household Pharmaceutical Wastes 

Fall Under RCRA?

• Non-hazardous household wastes are regulated under 

subtitle D of RCRA (local level)

• Household hazardous wastes (HHWs) are exempt from 

federal subtitle C regulations (40 CFR 261.4(b)(1))

– HHWs remain exempt even if collected but the collected HHW must 

be managed in accordance with all state and local requirements for 

the management of solid waste

– Furthermore, HHWs remain exempt when transported, stored, 

treated or disposed (see 45 FR 33099, May 19, 1980)

– The exemption is lost if HHW is mixed with HW, unless it is HW from 

a CESQG (see RCRAOnline #11681)

Note: Some states do have more stringent requirements for HHW
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More on HHW

• Why does federal EPA exempt HHW from subtitle C 

regulation?

– When enacting RCRA, congress indicated that the federal HW 

program should not regulate household wastes (see 45 FR 33099, 

May 19, 1980)

• Nevertheless, EPA recommends that collected HHWs be 

managed as HW

– Also recommend that sponsors contract with HW management 

professionals (see RCRAOnline # 11377)

– Remember: states may be more stringent and may require that 

collected HHWs be managed as HW
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HW Transporters

• Move HW from the generator’s site to a facility that 

recycles, treats and/or disposes the waste

• Requirements (40 CFR 263)

– Obtain an EPA identification number

– Comply with the manifest system

• Set of forms, reports and procedures that track HW

– Respond to HW discharges

– Comply with DOT regulations 

http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/transportation/transporters.htm
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Treatment, Storage and Disposal 

Facilities

• TSDF Requirements (40 CFR 264 and 265)

– Air Emissions – TSDFs are required to control the emission of 

VOCs

– Unit Specific Technical Requirements (e.g., tank standards) 

– Closure

– Corrective Action/HW Cleanup

– Financial Assurance

– Ground Water Monitoring

– Land Disposal Restrictions

– Permits

http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/tsd/index.htm
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Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs)

• Complements the unit-specific technical standards

– Physical barriers to protect ground water

• Requires that HW undergo a physical or chemical change 

before land disposal (40 CFR 268)

– Disposal Prohibition – Prior to land disposal, the HW must meet 

concentration-based standards or technology-based standards (e.g. 

combustion, stabilization, biodegradation, etc.)

– Dilution Prohibition – cannot dilute HW to circumvent proper 

treatment

– Storage Prohibition – cannot indefinitely store HW

http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/tsd/ldr/index.htm
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Finally, What is EPA Doing?

• In the process of finalizing the addition of 

hazardous pharmaceutical wastes to the federal 

universal waste program

• Drafting BMPs for pharmaceutical waste disposal 

for health care facilities

• Awarded grants for pilot take-back programs

• Fish tissue study and POTW Wastewater study

For more information on EPA activities, see:

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/
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Appendix

The RCRA Hazardous Waste Listings

• Specifically listed by RCRA 

– F list (40 CFR 261.31) – common manufacturing and industrial 

process wastes from non-specific sources

– K list (40 CFR 261.32) – wastes from specific industries

– P list (40 CFR 261.33(e)) – commercial chemical products 

(acutely hazardous)

– U list (40 CFR 261.33(f)) – commercial chemical products

* Note: P- and U- listings use chemical names with CAS#s, not trade names

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/pdfs/listing-ref.pdf
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Appendix 

P- and U- Listings

• Commercial chemical product (CCP)

– A chemical substance which is the commercially pure grade, a 

technical grade, OR a formulation in which the chemical is the 

sole active ingredient

– sole active ingredient = the listed chemical is the only ingredient 

performing the intended function. If there is another chemical 

that is also an active ingredient (even if listed), then that 

particular drug waste is not a listed HW

• Also, to meet the listing, the CCP must not have been 

used for its intended purpose

– Has not been used includes:

• Leftover pharmaceuticals not given to patient

• Container or dispensing instrument containing the leftover 

pharmaceutical (except for syringes that have been used to 

administer a drug)
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Appendix 

Examples of P-Listed CCPs Having 

Pharmaceutical Uses

• Warfarin >0.3% (P001)

• Arsenic trioxide (P012)

• Epinephrine base (P042)

– EPA has clarified that epinephrine salts are not included in the P042 

listing (RO# 14778)

• Phentermine (P046)

• Nicotine (P075)

• Nitroglycerine (P081)

– if medicinal nitroglycerine does not exhibit the characteristic of reactivity 

(for which it was listed), then it is not considered a listed hazardous 

waste (RO# 14654)

• Physostigmine salicylate (P188)

• Physostigmine (P204)
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Appendix 

Examples of U-Listed CCPs Having Pharmaceutical 

Uses

• Mitomycin C (U010)

• Chloral hydrate (U034)

• Chlorambucil (U035)

• Cyclophosphamide (U058)

• Daunomycin (U059)

• Dichlorodifluoromethane (U075)

• Diethylstilbestrol (U089)

• Trichloromonofluoromethane 

(U121)

• Lindane (U129)

• Hexachlorophene (U132)

• Melphalan (U150)

• Mercury (U151)

• Paraldehyde (U182)

• Phenol (U188)

• Reserpine (U200)

• Resorcinol (U201)

• Selenium sulfide (U205)

• Streptozotocin (U206)

• Uracil mustard (U237)

• Warfarin ≤0.3% (U248)
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Appendix 

The RCRA Hazardous Waste Characteristics

• If the pharmaceutical waste is not specifically listed, then it 

may be a HW because it exhibits a characteristic of 

hazardous waste (ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity or 

toxicity)

• A generator can either use a standardized test method or 

apply general knowledge of the waste’s properties in making 

this determination
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Appendix 

The RCRA HW Characteristics (cont.)

There are 4 characteristics of HW 

1. Ignitability (D001) – can create fire under certain conditions, 

spontaneously combustible, or have flashpoint less than 60 C 

(40 CFR 261.21)

2. Corrosivity (D002) – acid or bases capable of corroding metal 

(40 CFR 261.22)

3. Reactivity (D003) – unstable during normal conditions (40 

CFR 261.23)

4. Toxicity (D004-D043) – identified via the Toxicity 

Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). The TCLP 

identifies wastes likely to leach concentrations of contaminants 

that may be harmful (40 CFR 261.24)

– Examples of TC chemicals/heavy metals that have 

pharmaceutical uses: As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Hg, Se, Ag, Chloroform, 

Lindane, and M-cresol
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Appendix 

Management of Containers

• A container that held a P-listed CCP must be managed as 

a HW, unless the container is rendered “RCRA empty” 

(see 40 CFR 261.7(b)(3))

– RCRA empty for a P-listing = the container has been triple-rinsed

• Rinsate must be managed as HW

• A container that held a U-listed CCP or a characteristic 

HW is RCRA empty and is not a HW when (40 CFR 

261.7(b)(1)):

– All of the pharmaceutical has been removed that can be removed 

by normal means; AND

– No more than 3% by weight of the total capacity of the container 

remains