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Solid Waste Landfill Publications

Garbage truck hauling municipal solid waste to a landfillThis page provides links to reports, fact sheets, guidance documents, and memos pertaining to the operation and management of municipal solid waste landfills.

Guidance Documents and Memos

Safe Disposal Procedures for Household Appliances that Use Refrigerants (PDF) (4 pp, 384K)

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This brochure describes the federal disposal requirements landfill owners/operators and appliance/metal recyclers must follow when accepting appliances that contain refrigerants. (July 2006)

Disposal of Domestic Birds Infected by Avian Influenza - An Overview of Considerations and Options (PDF) (30 pp, 460K)
EPA and USDA are working to ensure that domesticated bird carcasses and any related materials infected with avian influenza are managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The document outlines critical factors in the avian influenza disposal process and includes a variety of both on- and off-site disposal/treatment options, information on cleaning and disinfecting disposal equipment, guidance on transporting infected materials for disposal, and contact information for local and state environmental, agricultural, health, and emergency response organizations. (August 11, 2006)

Management of Certain Cattle Origin Material Pursuant to the Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food and Feed Final Rule
Because of the Food and Drug Administration's final rule prohibiting the use of certain cattle parts in ALL animal feed, including pet food, effective April 27, 2009, alternate disposal methods for these materials will become necessary.

Clarification of April 6, 2004 Memo on Recommended Interim Practices for Disposal of Potentially Contaminated Chronic Wasting Disease Carcasses and Wastes (PDF) (5 pp, 93K)
This memo replaces the April 2004 memorandum on recommended interim practices for disposal of potentially contaminated chronic wasting disease (CWD) carcasses and wastes in municipal solid waste landfills. The memo provides certain clarifications and revisions based on continuing discussions. These practices are particularly appropriate for landfills facing a relatively large number of carcasses from a particular culling or other event. (November 2004)

Recommended Interim Practices for Disposal of Potentially Contaminated Chronic Wasting Disease Carcasses and Wastes (PDF) (4 pp, 14K)
This memo provides states and municipal solid waste landfill facility managers with options for the disposal of potentially contaminated chronic wasting disease (CWD) carcasses and wastes in municipal solid waste landfills. (April 2004)

Preparing No-Migration Demonstrations for MSW Disposal Facilities: A Screening Tool (PDF) (44 pp, 258 KB, About PDF) || ASCII
This guidance affects EPA regulations for municipal solid waste landfills that allow groundwater monitoring requirements to be suspended if there is no potential for migration of hazardous constituents from the unit to the uppermost aquifer during the active life and post-closure care period for the municipal solid waste landfill. This manual is intended to help owners and operators of small municipal solid waste landfills (20 tons per day) to develop and submit no-migration demonstrations to state permit authorities. A no-migration demonstration can be a cost-effective way for owners and operators of municipal solid waste landfills in specific climatic and hydrogeologic conditions to comply with the groundwater monitoring provisions of the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria. (February 1999)

Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria—Technical Manual
 This manual was originally published in November, 1993 as a companion to the Municipal Solid Waste Landfills Criteria that were promulgated on October 9, 1991 as 40 CFR Part 258. The manual's newly revised introduction discusses briefly state and tribal processes for implementing the Part 258 Criteria and changes in the Criteria since their promulgation. The manual then focuses on providing owners/operators with guidance for complying with the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria. (April 1998)

Site-Specific Flexibility Requests for MSW Landfills in Indian Country; Draft Guidance
This guidance document sets out a process designed to help owners and operators in requesting flexibility in federal municipal solid waste landfill rules in Indian Country and to help EPA Regional offices in reviewing and processing such requests. EPA may revise the process based on further review and any comments received on the draft guidance contained in this document. (August 1997)

Criteria for Solid Waste Disposal Facilities: A Guide for Owners/Operators (PDF) (22 pp, 2.3MB, about PDF) | Text Version (text file) (19 pp, 43K)
This guide provides owners and operators of municipal solid waste landfills basic information on the Subtitle D regulations and summarizes the provisions of the EPA's Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria. The document discusses the major requirements of these regulations, who is required to comply and when, how the rule will be implemented and enforced, and where to obtain more information. (March 1993)

Safer Disposal for Solid Waste: The Federal Regulations for Landfills (PDF) (15 pp, 617K, about PDF) | Text Version (text file) (19K)
This handbook summarizes the federal regulations covering landfill location, operations, design, groundwater monitoring and corrective action, closure and post-closure care, and financial assurance. The document also provides owners/operators and local officials dates for compliance and additional sources of information. (March 1993)

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Reports

Climate Change and Waste: Reducing Waste Can Make a Difference
This folder and its series of fact sheets address the links between climate change and municipal solid waste management.

Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks
This report examines how municipal solid waste management and climate change are related.

List of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (1995)
This list of municipal solid waste landfills is the third in a series developed by EPA's Office of Solid Waste (renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery on January 18, 2009). This list is compiled from individual records that were collected from states and the U.S. territories:

List of Industrial Waste Landfills and Construction and Demolition Waste Landfills (PDF) (188 pp, 540K)
This document provides an estimate of the number of active industrial waste landfills and construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfills regulated under Subtitle D. The list is compiled from records collected by the states and territories. Individual states may classify C&D debris landfills or industrial waste landfills differently depending on state definitions. These different definitions may affect the count of actual C&D debris or industrial waste landfills. (September 1994)

Flow Control and Municipal Solid Waste Report to Congress, 1995

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Fact Sheets

Geosynthetic Clay Liners Used in Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (PDF) (8 pp, 114K) | ASCII Text Version
 This fact sheet provides information on geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) and presents case studies of successful applications. GCLs represent a technology with wide acceptance for use as a barrier system in municipal solid waste landfill applications and offer some unique advantages over conventional bottom liners and covers. (December 2001)

Landfill Reclamation (PDF) (8 pp, 131K) | ASCII Text Version
This fact sheet describes how landfill reclamation can be used to expand municipal solid waste landfill capacity. Reclamation costs can be offset by the sale or use of recovered materials, such as recyclables, soil, and waste which can be burned as fuel, but some drawbacks exist. This fact sheet provides information on this technology and presents case studies of successful reclamation projects. (July 1997)

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