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Household Hazardous Waste

Last updated 11/06/07

• What is the Household Hazardous Waste Exclusion?
• Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Related topic: Household Lead Waste Disposal

Household wastes are excluded from Ecology's Dangerous Waste Regulations (the WAC). This exclusion only applies to waste disposal.

The household hazardous waste exemption in WAC 173-303-071(3)(c) Exit Ecology reads as follows:

(c) Household wastes, including household waste that has been collected, transported, stored, or disposed. Wastes that are residues from or are generated by the management of household wastes (e.g., leachate, ash from burning of refuse derived fuel) are not excluded by this provision. "Household wastes" means any waste material (including, but not limited to, garbage, trash, and sanitary wastes in septic tanks) derived from households (including single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunkhouses, ranger stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic grounds, and day-use recreation areas). A resource recovery facility managing municipal solid waste will not be deemed to be treating, storing, disposing of, or otherwise managing dangerous wastes for the purposes of regulation under this chapter, if such facility:

(i) Receives and burns only:

(A) Household waste (from single and multiple dwellings, hotels, motels, and other residential sources); and

(B) Solid waste from commercial or industrial sources that does not contain dangerous waste; and

(ii) Such facility does not accept dangerous wastes and the owner or operator of such facility has established contractual requirements or other appropriate notification or inspection procedures to assure that dangerous wastes are not received at or burned in such facility;

• See Chapter 173–303 WAC  Exit Ecology-  for the full text of the dangerous waste regulations.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a nearly identical exclusion from RCRA in 40 CFR Part 261.4 (b)(1) Exit Ecology. The Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Registers are available from the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration on the United States Government Printing Office web site GPO Access at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html Exit Ecology

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Dispose of household hazardous wastes according to local solid waste regulations. This means

• a construction and demolition waste landfill,
• a moderate risk waste collection facility,
• a household waste collection event, or
• another solid waste facility such as a municipal landfill.

Contact your local solid waste utility, local and/or tribal government for more information.

Washington State Moderate Risk Waste Coordinators Directory is at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/mrw/mrw_contacts.html

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