Mr. Andrew Heine — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.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 2Drakeford, 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 3Sincerely, Andrew Heine 21 Sherwood Drive Medford NJ, 08055 (609) 980-4415 Apheine 1 @yahoo.com 2#