RCRA Hazardous Waste (US, 40 CFR 261)
Cardboard is not a federal hazardous waste under RCRA. It is regulated as solid waste under state and local rules; clean OCC is a traded recovered commodity.
Also searched as: corrugated cardboard, OCC, cardboard boxes, carton
No federal hazardous waste code
Cardboard does not carry a federal RCRA hazardous waste code. It is regulated as solid waste under state and local rules, and specifics depend on your state environmental agency.
Not being federally hazardous does not mean it has no value — clean cardboard is often a recovered commodity with active buyers.
RCRA classifies waste by source, process, and characteristics — not just material. Pick the row that matches how your cardboard arises; each coded row links to the full waste code definition under 40 CFR Part 261.
Clean commercial/industrial OCC
Recovered paper commodity — typically sold, not disposed
Contaminated with listed waste (e.g. solvent-soaked)
The contaminating waste code governs, not the cardboard
Source: 40 CFR Part 261 — Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste
Shipping to the EU?
See the EWC code for cardboard.
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