Department of Toxic Substances Control
California assigns its own hazardous waste codes under 22 CCR Division 4.5, Chapter 11, Appendix XII. A California waste code is required on the manifest for every hazardous waste generated in or shipped to the state — including wastes that are not hazardous under federal RCRA.
80 codes · 5 waste familiesCalifornia regulates a broader universe of hazardous waste than the federal baseline: non-RCRA "California-only" wastes (waste oil, asbestos, treated wood and threshold-based restricted wastes) carry these three-digit codes even when no federal RCRA code applies. Codes group by waste family — the first digit signals inorganics (1), organics (2-3), sludges (4), miscellaneous (5-6) and restricted wastes (7-8).
All 80 codes from 22 CCR Chapter 11, Appendix XII, grouped by waste family.
Alkaline and aqueous solutions, surplus inorganic chemicals, asbestos waste, spent catalysts, metal sludges, dusts and other inorganic solids. Metal content and pH drive the code choice.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 121 | Alkaline solution (pH <= 12.5) with metals (antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, vanadium, zinc) |
| 122 | Alkaline solution without metals (pH > 12.5) |
| 123 | Unspecified alkaline solution |
| 131 | Aqueous solution (2 < pH < 12.5) containing reactive anions (azide, bromate, chlorate, cyanide, fluoride, hypochlorite, nitrite, perchlorate, sulfide) |
| 132 | Aqueous solution with metals at restricted levels |
| 133 | Aqueous solution with 10% or more total organic residues |
| 134 | Aqueous solution with less than 10% total organic residues |
| 135 | Unspecified aqueous solution |
| 141 | Off-specification, aged, or surplus inorganics |
| 151 | Asbestos-containing waste |
| 161 | Fluid-cracking catalyst (FCC) waste |
| 162 | Other spent catalyst |
| 171 | Metal sludge |
| 172 | Metal dust and machining waste |
| 181 | Other inorganic solid waste |
Solvents by family (halogenated, oxygenated, hydrocarbon), waste oil, pesticide wastes, still bottoms, PCBs, resins, pharmaceutical and biological wastes, and organic liquids and solids.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 211 | Halogenated solvents (chloroform, methyl chloride, perchloroethylene, etc.) |
| 212 | Oxygenated solvents (acetone, butanol, ethyl acetate, etc.) |
| 213 | Hydrocarbon solvents (benzene, hexane, Stoddard, etc.) |
| 214 | Unspecified solvent mixture |
| 221 | Waste oil and mixed oil |
| 222 | Oil/water separation sludge |
| 223 | Unspecified oil-containing waste |
| 231 | Pesticide rinse water |
| 232 | Pesticides and waste from pesticide production |
| 241 | Tank bottom waste |
| 251 | Still bottoms with halogenated organics |
| 252 | Other still bottom waste |
| 261 | Polychlorinated biphenyls and PCB-containing materials |
| 271 | Organic monomer waste (includes unreacted resins) |
| 272 | Polymeric resin waste |
| 281 | Adhesives |
| 291 | Latex waste |
| 311 | Pharmaceutical waste |
| 321 | Sewage sludge |
| 322 | Biological waste other than sewage sludge |
| 331 | Off-specification, aged, or surplus organics |
| 341 | Organic liquids (nonsolvents) with halogens |
| 342 | Organic liquids with metals |
| 343 | Unspecified organic liquid mixture |
| 351 | Organic solids with halogens |
| 352 | Other organic solids |
Named process sludges: alum and gypsum, lime, phosphate, sulfur, degreasing, paint, paper and pulp, tetraethyl lead, and unspecified sludge waste.
Container wastes, drilling mud, chemical toilet waste, photochemicals, laboratory chemicals, ashes, scrubber and baghouse wastes, contaminated soil, auto shredder and treated wood waste.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 511 | Empty pesticide containers 30 gallons or more |
| 512 | Other empty containers 30 gallons or more |
| 513 | Empty containers less than 30 gallons |
| 521 | Drilling mud |
| 531 | Chemical toilet waste |
| 541 | Photochemicals/photoprocessing waste |
| 551 | Laboratory waste chemicals |
| 561 | Detergent and soap |
| 571 | Fly ash, bottom ash, and retort ash |
| 581 | Gas scrubber waste |
| 591 | Baghouse waste |
| 611 | Contaminated soil from site clean-ups |
| 612 | Household waste |
| 613 | Auto shredder waste |
| 614 | Treated wood waste |
Liquids and solids over specific constituent thresholds (cyanides, arsenic, cadmium, chromium VI, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, PCBs, halogenated organics), strong acids and potential dioxin wastes. Restricted from land disposal.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 711 | Liquids with cyanides >= 1000 mg/l |
| 721 | Liquids with arsenic >= 500 mg/l |
| 722 | Liquids with cadmium >= 100 mg/l |
| 723 | Liquids with chromium (VI) >= 500 mg/l |
| 724 | Liquids with lead >= 500 mg/l |
| 725 | Liquids with mercury >= 20 mg/l |
| 726 | Liquids with nickel >= 134 mg/l |
| 727 | Liquids with selenium >= 100 mg/l |
| 728 | Liquids with thallium >= 130 mg/l |
| 731 | Liquids with polychlorinated biphenyls >= 50 mg/l |
| 741 | Liquids with halogenated organic compounds >= 1000 mg/l |
| 751 | Solids or sludges with halogenated organic compounds >= 1000 mg/kg |
| 791 | Liquids with pH <= 2 |
| 792 | Liquids with pH <= 2 with metals |
| 801 | Waste potentially containing dioxins |
RCRA-regulated streams carry a federal code in addition to the California code. Look up D, F, K, P and U codes in the RCRA catalogue.
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