Hazardous Waste Collection Centers
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration · Oct 4, 2001 · Reference No. 01-0199
Interprets: 49 CFR § 171.1
Reggie’s quick take
A government collection program asked whether federal hazardous materials rules apply to its regional collection centers. The agency's answer has several parts. Small businesses that are conditionally exempt generators usually fall outside the rules for their waste, unless the waste fits a specific hazard class or is a listed hazardous substance. Those businesses are still responsible for following the rules when they ship such materials. The centers do not have to advise these businesses on the rules. For a government agency that moves hazardous materials with its own staff for government purposes and not for commerce, the rules do not apply. If it hauls for a commercial purpose or hands materials to a commercial carrier, they do.
Written by AI (Claude) on Oct 22, 2026. Robots make mistakes and leave things out, so the letter below is what counts. Not legal advice.
This responds to your July 26, 2001 letter requesting clarification of the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to your hazardous waste collection centers. Specifically, you ask if the HMR apply to the transportation of hazardous waste and hazardous materials collected by your government operated hazardous waste collection program.
According to your letter, your Department has created several Regional Collection Centers (RCCs) to assist small business generators meeting the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) definition of a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) with the disposal of their waste materials. Your questions are summarized and answered as follows:
Q1. Are CESQG businesses required to follow the HMR when bringing waste to the RCCs for disposal?
A1. CESQG wastes generally are not considered hazardous wastes under the HMR because they are not subject to EPA's Hazardous Waste Manifest requirements (see § 171.8). However, CESQG wastes that meet the definition of a specific hazard class or that are listed as a hazardous substance in Appendix A to § 172.101 are subject to the HMR.
Q2. One of the primary functions of the RCCs is education in the management of hazardous materials generated by households and CESQG businesses. According to EPA, CESQG hazardous waste is not required to be managed as hazardous waste. Are the RCCs required to advise CESQG businesses of DOT regulations when the CESQG business is transporting its waste to the RCC for disposal?
A2. No. It is the offeror/shipper's responsibility to comply with the applicable requirements of the HMR, including properly classing, packaging, and describing a hazardous material for transportation. Of course, we appreciate any assistance in the education of those entities subject to the HMR.
Q3. If the RCC is receiving payment by a local community to stage a one-day collection of household hazardous materials at no charge to residents, is the RCC required to follow DOT hazardous materials regulations when the hazardous materials are being transported by the RCCs back to their facilities?
A3. No. The HMR govern the safe transportation of hazardous materials in commerce as specified in § 171.1. "In commerce" generally means in furtherance of a commercial enterprise. A state agency or local jurisdiction that transports hazardous materials using its own personnel for government purposes is not subject to the HMR. Even though communities that are part of an RCC sometimes reimburse each other for various services, they are conducting a noncommercial enterprise that is not considered to be transportation in commerce. However, if the state agency or local jurisdiction transports hazardous materials for a commercial purpose or offers a hazardous material for transportation to a commercial carrier, then the HMR apply.
Q4. Do the HMR-apply to the RCCs in Iowa?
A4. See response in A3.
A letter of interpretation applies the regulations to the facts the requester described. It isn’t a regulation and isn’t legal advice. The agency’s copy.