# Mr. Andrew Heine — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 12-0109  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2012-06-14

12-0109 concerning 173.134.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
JUN 1 4 2012
Mr. Andrew Heine
21 Sherwood Drive
Medford, NJ 08055
Ref. No. 12-0109
Dear Mr. Heine:
This responds to your letter requesting clarification of Hazardous Materials Regulations
(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to household-generated solid waste. Specifically,
you ask whether soiled diapers packaged and offered for transportation by your customers to
a commercial carrier who then delivers them to your facility are subject to the HMR.
The answer is no. As specified in § 173.134(b )(13)(i) of the HMR, household waste that
does not meet the definition of any other hazard class is not subject to the requirements of
the HMR as a Division 6.2 material but may be subject to other state, local, or tribal
requirements.
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Monday, May 07,2012 11:38 AM
Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
FW: Formal Interpretation Letter Request
Hi Carolyn,
We received the following request for a letter of interpretation.
Thanks,
Victoria
From: Andrew Heine [mailto:apheinel@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 11:37 AM
To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Subject: Formal Interpretation Letter Request
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing this email to request a formal letter of interpretation. Furthermore, I am requesting to receive
confirmation of my classification of post -consumer dirty diapers and their applicability to the DOT's shipping
requirements outlined in 49 CPR 173.134 for Class 6, Division 6.2.
I am looking to offer a recycling program for used (post-consumer) dirty diapers. The model for this recycling
program is as follows: consumers will collect their own dirty diapers at their homes. Then, they will place their
diapers in think poly-bags and put the full poly bag into a shipping box. This shipping box will ship ground
directly to my recycling facility.
I interpret the applicability of 49 CPR 173.134 to be as follows:
Post-consumer dirty diapers, originating from households are not classified as a Category A or Category B
Division 6.2 infectious substance because they are not known or reasonably expected to contain a
pathogen. Furthermore, they meet the requirements of 173.134 (b)(13)(i) Household waste and are not subject
to the requirements as Division 6.2 materials. Since, diapers are not required to ship as a Division 6.2 material;
they are not subject to regulation under the HMR.
I most sincerely appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.
1

<<<PAGE 3>>>

Sincerely,
Andrew Heine
21 Sherwood Drive
Medford NJ, 08055
(609) 980-4415
Apheine 1 @yahoo.com
2

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120109.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `fd5a3be064c65046c4c9b5ec2683a32114cdd20f1298be4a65b63e47364ef44f`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T22:51:14.095Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0109`

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