RCRA

The federal law governing hazardous waste from generation through transport, treatment and disposal.

RCRA governs hazardous waste across its whole life, from the point it is generated to final disposal: the cradle-to-grave framework. It is separate from EPCRA, which concerns chemicals in use rather than waste.

A facility's obligations depend on its generator status, which follows from how much hazardous waste it produces per month.

Most states are authorised to run their own RCRA programmes, and many are stricter than the federal baseline, so state rules generally govern in practice.

Related terms

• Generator statusA facility's RCRA category (VSQG, SQG or LQG) is determined by how much hazardous waste it generates monthly.
• Hazardous waste manifestThe tracking document accompanying hazardous waste from the generator to its final treatment or disposal facility.
• e-ManifestEPA's electronic system for submitting and tracking hazardous waste manifests.
• EPCRAThe 1986 federal law requiring facilities to report the hazardous chemicals they store so communities and responders know what is there.

A plain-English explanation, not legal advice. Figures are the federal baseline; your state may differ, so see the state-by-state requirements.