pollution: pollution prevention act of 1990 which requires the epa to establish an office of pollution prevention and the owners and operators of manufacturing facilities to report annually on source reduction and recycling activities hazardous waste combustors; revised standards; final rule - part 1 of 1998 which provides for a conditional exclusion from rcra for fuels which are produced from a hazardous waste and promotes the installation of cost effective pollution prevention technologies resource conservation and recovery act (rcra) within rcra, the epa has three comprehensive waste management programs: subtitle c - hazardous waste: the subtitle c program establishes a system for controlling hazardous waste from its generation until its ultimate disposal ("cradle-to-grave" approach). this program identifies the criteria to determine hazardous waste and establishes requirements for all of the parties: producers, transporters and disposal facilities. subtitle d - solid waste: the subtitle d program establishes a system for controlling (primarily non-hazardous) solid waste, such as household waste. the program provides the states and local governments with guidance, policy and regulations for the efficient waste management. subtitle i - underground storage tanks: the subtitle i program in rcra regulates toxic substances and petroleum products stored in underground storage tanks (ust). the program establishes requirements for design and operation of ust aimed at preventing accidental spills. main rcra accomplishments some of the main achievements of rcra since its implementation are given below: established design and performance standards for landfills and treatment technologies; established "cradle-to-grave" tracking of hazardous waste; caused the closure of a large number of mismanaged facilities; two-thirds of non-compliant land disposal facilities were closed; prevented the disposal of untreated wastes into and onto the land; permitted more than 900 hazardous waste management facilities; assessed over 1,600 facilities; authorized 48 states for the base rcra program. improvement areas there are a number of lessons learned post-implementation of rcra. first of all it appeared that close congressional oversight could limit flexibility. after 1984, when hswa were approved, epa's discretion was influenced by close congressional oversight. congress set specific implementation deadlines for the hazardous waste program. the very demanding regulatory development schedule did not allow epa to pay enough attention to other very important priorities. the important priorities for epa found by their study are listed below: program evaluation and long-term priorities should be strengthened; old regulations should be revised; new regulations could make it difficult for state programs; stronger focus on environmental data is needed; state authorization should be faster; alternates should be examined; potential regulatory overlaps or inconsistencies should be addressed. state legislation federal guidelines have provided state, tribal, and some local governments regulatory responsibility for ensuring proper management of wastes generated from each source in their region but the programs might vary considerably in their guidelines and implementation. as of 2011, the epa has authorized forty-eight states, except alaska and iowa (hawaii was added in 2001), to implement the rcra, meaning the states' regulations must meet at least the requirements set at the federal level and may be more stringent. many states follow the federal rules for hazardous waste management and also have more stringent state requirements on hazardous and toxic wastes in particular. california, new york and iowa are some states that have additional requirements. for example, the california department of toxic and hazardous substances distinguishes discarded mercury-containing products and waste oil as separate groups of hazardous waste. municipal legislation municipalities are in charge of local recycling and trash collection. they can choose whether to contract these services out to private companies or not and how to charge for these services. municipalities also may adopt approaches of converting waste to energy through methods such as generating electricity from landfill gas. therefore, municipalities play an important role in everyday waste management. there is, of course, a wide variety of implementation across the country. challenges and issues solid waste management challenges and issues that should be considered while framing solid waste policy include proper waste generation, segregation, collection, transportation, and disposal methods, landfill management, hazardous and other toxic material management, treatment, incineration, recycling and other technology standards, monitoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement methods. in addition to these issues, policy has to address the short term and long-term economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits, funding methods, and roles of various stakeholders.