State Universal Waste Programs in the United States

On this page:

• Why Are Universal Waste Regulations Different in Some States?
  • State Adoption
  • State Additions
• Links to State Universal Waste Regulations
• Table Identifying Which States Have Federal and State Universal Wastes

Why Are Universal Waste Regulations Different in Some States?

State Adoption

Like in most federal environmental legislation, EPA encourages states to develop and implement their own hazardous waste programs as an alternative to direct EPA implementation. State adoption of the universal waste rules is optional because the rules are less stringent than the previous requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). States can create different standards (except for batteries due to the Battery Act), but they have to be equivalent to the federal regulations (i.e., they must provide equivalent protection, cannot regulate fewer handlers, etc.).

States may adopt the entire universal waste program put into place via several rules or certain provisions of the universal waste program, which are:

• General provisions,
• Provisions for batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, and lamps (states do not have to include all of them), and
• Provisions allowing the addition of new universal wastes in state.

The federal universal waste rules went into effect immediately upon the federal effective date in states and territories that are not authorized to implement their own RCRA program, including Iowa, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. EPA encourages states to adopt the 1995 universal wastes rule as well as subsequent federal universal wastes (e.g., lamps, mercury-containing equipment, aerosol cans).

State Additions

Additionally, U.S. states authorized for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) universal waste rulemaking petition process found at 40 CFR 260.23 may add additional universal wastes to the state's universal waste program. In order for a state to add waste to the universal waste program:

• the waste must be generated by a wide variety of generators,
• the waste cannot be exclusive to a specific industry, and
• the waste must be hazardous.

Also, the state’s requirements for managing the waste must prevent releases to the environment and increase the likelihood that the waste be recycled or managed at a hazardous waste facility. Keep in mind that state-only universal waste is only regulated as universal waste in that state and other states that have added the same waste to their universal waste programs.

Table With State Adoption and Authorization Information with Links to State Universal Waste Regulations

The map below shows the states that have adopted the 1995 universal waste final rule (shown in green), which states have been authorized by EPA to implement it (shown in light blue) and in which states EPA administers the universal waste program (shown in orange). New rules go into effect in a state when a state adopts them into state law. When EPA authorizes a state for a new rule, EPA reviews the new state regulations subsequent to adoption to ensure they are equally as stringent as, or more stringent than the federal regulations. EPA authorizes states through a final rule and can then enforce authorized state rules. See the State Authorization page for further information about the state authorization program. Find out about your state's universal waste program by clicking on the map below:

Last updated on February 7, 2023

Below is a table with columns showing the name of each U.S. state, a link to each state's universal waste regulations (where possible), if the state adopted the 1995 universal waste final rule, and if the state is authorized by EPA to implement it.

The state name links to our Web page containing all state environmental agency websites so you can search within the state website for additional universal waste information. Many of the following links exit the site

Notes about this table:

• The linked regulations may not be the most current.
• States do not have to include all of the federal universal wastes when the states adopt the rule. For example, Maine and Washington did not include pesticides and North Dakota did not include thermostats. The table below contains more detail about which states have adopted which universal wastes.

Universal Wastes in Each State and State Additions

The universal waste regulations can vary between states and states can add different types of wastes. Below is a table with columns showing the name of each U.S. state, the five types of federal universal wastes, additional universal wastes the state has added to its program, and the regulatory citation for the state's universal waste program. An "X" marked in the columns Batteries, Pesticides, Mercury-Containing Equipment, Lamps, or Aerosol Cans indicates that the state universal waste program includes that federal universal waste. States may add additional requirements for specific waste streams. As a result, variations may be present between federal Universal Waste regulations and state regulations.

1. States which adopted aerosol cans prior to federal rule being promulgated, state rule functionally equivalent to federal rule