{"operation":"document","citation":"25-0119","title":"Illinois Environmental Protection Agency — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2026-03-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"25-0119 response to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency concerning 171.8, 173.134.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0119.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0119.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0119","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2026-03/250119.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nMarch 17, 2026\nAlyssa Hermon\nIllinois Environmental Protection Agency\n2520 West Iles Avenue\nP.O. Box 19276\nSpringfield, IL 62794\nReference No. 25-0119\nDear Ms. Hermon:\nThis is in response to your August 26, 2025 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transportation of\nregulated medical waste (RMW). Specifically, you ask about sharps containers and transport of\nthose containers by a private carrier. You provide a scenario where sharps are generated by a\nresident and taken to a county, municipal, or community waste collection center, and picked up\nby a commercial hauler. Your understating is that the sharps in the scenario provided do not meet\nthe definition of household waste as stated in § 171.8 and must be transported as RMW as\nprescribed in § 173.134(c)(2).\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ1. Are the sharps in the scenario provided no longer considered household waste, but\ninstead considered RMW, once consolidated at a collection center and subsequently\noffered for transportation by a commercial carrier that is not associated with the local or\nState government?\nA1. Yes, provided the RMW meets the definition in § 173.134(a)(5), including the\nprohibition of use for medical waste containing a Category A infectious substance. The\ndefinition of household waste does not include consolidated shipments of household\nhazardous materials transported from collection centers. See definition of household\nwaste in § 171.8.\nQ2. With respect to § 173.134(c)(2)(x), are sharps in containers 18-gallons or less considered\nRMW or household waste?\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA2. For purposes of § 173.134(c)(2)(x), sharps in containers 18-gallons or less are considered\nRMW. PHMSA defines “sharps” in § 173.134(a)(6) as any object contaminated with a\npathogen or that may become contaminated with a pathogen through handling or during\ntransportation and is also capable of cutting or penetrating the skin or a packaging\nmaterial. Sharps include needles, syringes, scalpels, broken glass, culture slides, culture\ndishes, broken capillary tubes, broken rigid plastic, and exposed ends of dental wires.\nThus, sharps known or reasonably expected to contain a pathogen must be classified as a\nDivision 6.2 material and transported in accordance with HMR packaging requirements.\nTypically, material transported as RMW is directed to § 173.197 for authorized\npackaging, however, sharps may alternatively be transported as RMW in accordance with\nprovisions of § 173.134(c)(2)(x). Furthermore, see exceptions available for RMW in\n§ 173.134(c)(1).\nQ3. Are sharps in containers above 18-gallons considered RMW or a Category A or B\ninfectious substance?\nA3. Sharps in containers above 18-gallons may be considered RMW, provided the RMW\nmeets the definition in § 173.134(a)(5). See answers A1 and A2. Sharps classified and\ndescribed as “UN 3291, Regulated medical waste, n.o.s., 6.2, PG II” are directed to\n§ 173.197 for authorized packaging. Sharps in containers containing a Category A\ninfectious substance must be classed as an infectious substance and assigned to UN2814,\nUN2900, or UN3549.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nDirk Der Kinderen\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nIllinois Environmental Protection Agency\n2520 West Iles Avenue • P.O. Box 19276 • Springfield, Illinois • 62794-9276 • 217-782-3397\nJB Pritzker, Governor James Jennings, Acting Director\nAugust 26, 2025\nMr. Shane Kelley\nDirector, Standards and Rulemaking Division\nU.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor\nWashington, DC 20590\nRe: Medical Waste Hauling\nMr. Kelley,\nThe Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Materials Management and Compliance Section,\nrequests a Letter of Interpretation regarding the shipment of household-generated medical\nwaste. More specifically, we request clarification of the rules and regulations governing sharps\ntransported by a commercial hauler.\nAs defined by 49 CFR 171.8, sharps that are generated by a resident and taken to a county,\nmunicipal or community waste collection center, and picked up by a commercial hauler are no\nlonger considered a household waste. This then leads us to believe that this waste would be\ntransported as Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) as stated in 49 CFR 173.134(c)(2).\nOur thought process is the following: Because the household waste definition (49 CFR 171.8)\nexcludes waste collected at a collection center, the sharps being dropped off to local\ngovernment units would then be transported as RMW by a commercial hauler and must follow\n49 CFR 173.134(c)(2).\nHere are our questions:\n1. Is our thought process correct in concluding that this waste would then be RMW once\npicked up by a commercial or 3rd party hauler that is not involved with the unit of local\ngovernment or the State?\n2. For those containers under 18-gallons, would these be considered RMW or household\nwaste? (49 CFR 173.134(c)(2)(x)).\n3. For those containers weighing above 18-gallons, would these be regulated as RMW or an\nInfectious Substance?\n2125S.FirstStreet,Champaign,IL 61820 • 217-278-5800\n1101 Eastport Plaza Dr., Suite 100, Collinsville, IL 62234 • 618-346-5120\n595S. State Street, Elgin, IL 60123 • 847-608-3131\n412 SW Washington Street, Suite D, Peoria, IL 61602 • 309-671-3022\n115 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 2203, Chicago, IL 60603\n9511 Harrison Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016 • 847-294-4000\n2309 W. Main Street, Suite 116, Marion, IL 62959 • 618-993-7200\n4302 N. Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103 • 815-987-n6o\nPlease print on recycled paper.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>","truncated":false,"body_characters":5868}