LBP debris (such as architectural building components — doors, window frames, painted wood 
work) that do not exhibit the TC for lead need not be managed as hazardous waste. However, LBP 
waste such as debris, paint chips, dust, and sludges generated from abatement and deleading 
activities that exhibit the TC for lead (that is, exceed the TC regulatory limit of 5 mg/L lead in the 
waste leachate), are hazardous wastes and must be managed and disposed of in accordance with 
the applicable RCRA subtitle C requirements (including land disposal restrictions) except when it 
is “household waste.” Under 40 CFR 261.4(b)(1), household wastes are excluded from the 
hazardous waste management requirements. Today, EPA is clarifying that waste generated as part 
of LBP activities conducted at residences (which include single family homes, apartment 
buildings, public housing, and military barracks) is also household waste, that such wastes are no 
longer hazardous wastes and that such wastes thus are excluded from RCRA’s hazardous waste 
management and disposal regulations. Generators of residential LBP waste do not have to make a 
RCRA hazardous waste determination. This interpretation holds regardless of whether the waste 
exhibits the toxicity characteristic or whether the LBP activities were performed by the residents 
themselves or by a contractor. 
Where can I dispose of my household LBP waste? 
LBP waste from residences can be discarded in a municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) or a 
municipal solid waste combustor. Dumping and open burning of residential LBP waste is not 
allowed. Certain LBP waste (such as large quantities of concentrated lead paint waste — paint 
chips, dust, or sludges) from residential deleading activities may be subject to more stringent 
requirements of State, local, and/or tribal authorities. 
What is the basis for this interpretation? 
The household waste exclusion implements Congress’s intent that the hazardous waste regulations 
are “not to be used either to control the disposal of substances used in households or to extend 
control over general municipal wastes based on the presence of such substances.” S. Rep. No. 94- 
988, 94th Cong., 2nd Sess., at 16. EPA regulations define “household waste” to include “any 
waste material (including 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).” 40 CFR 
261.4(b)(1). The Agency has applied two criteria to define the scope of the exclusion: (1) the 
waste must be generated by individuals on the premises of a household, and (2) the waste must be 
composed primarily of materials found in the wastes generated by consumers in their homes (49 
FR 44978 and 63 FR 70241). 
In 1998, EPA concluded that LBP waste resulting from renovation and remodeling efforts by 
residents of households met these criteria. (63 FR 70241-42, Dec. 18, 1998). In short, the Agency 
found that more and more residents are engaged in these activities and thus the waste can be 
considered to be generated by individuals in a household and of the type that consumers generate 
routinely in their homes. Wastes from LBP abatements performed by residents were also 
considered household wastes. 
9 6 
Appendix E 
