RCRA Hazardous Waste (US, 40 CFR 261)
Clean scrap metal is not a federal hazardous waste under RCRA. It is a commodity recovered for recycling. Metal contaminated with hazardous substances carries the contaminant code.
Also searched as: metal scrap, ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal, steel scrap
Have a scrap-metal stream? See the dossier that replaces the feasibility study.
See the validation dossierNo federal hazardous waste code
Scrap Metal 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 scrap metal 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 scrap metal arises; each coded row links to the full waste code definition under 40 CFR Part 261.
Clean ferrous and non-ferrous metal
Commodity — not RCRA hazardous
Metal contaminated (oil, solvents, heavy metals)
The contaminant code governs
Source: 40 CFR Part 261 — Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste
Scrap Metal
With a lab analysis, the engine checks the stream against each receiving route's published limits and returns what is supported, what is refused, and why. Without one yet, we tell you which routes it can evaluate and what analysis that needs.
See what the output looks like: a worked dossier.
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