See: resource conservation and recovery act (RCRA) 
at US Environmental Protection Agency
Law: US Code (Search for Title 42, Chapter 82: Solid Waste Disposal)
Regulations: US Code of Federal Regulations (Search for Title 40, Chapter I, Subchapter I: Solid Wastes, Parts 239 through 282)
Summary: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), originally enacted in 1976, provides the US Environmental Protection Agency with the authority for the proper management of hazardous and nonhazardous solid waste, including a ban on open dumping of solid waste, the phase out of land disposal of hazardous waste, standards for the treatment, transport and disposal of hazardous waste, criteria for disposal facilities including landfills and incineration of nonhazardous waste, and promotion of source reduction and recovery (recycling and composting) of waste.
History: RCRA significantly amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965.
Amendments: The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 provided major revisions to RCRA. In addition, the Federal Facilities Compliance Act of 1992 clarified that Federal agencies must comply with RCRA, and the Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1996 amended RCRA to provide regulatory flexibility for land disposal of certain wastes.
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