---
kind: "section"
citation: "42 U.S.C. § 6902"
title: "42"
title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare"
number: "6902"
heading: "Objectives and national policy"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/6902"
units:
  - "Chapter 82 — Solid Waste Disposal"
  - "Subchapter I — General Provisions"
---

# §6902. Objectives and national policy

- (a) **Objectives—** The objectives of this chapter are to promote the protection of health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources by—
  - (1) providing technical and financial assistance to [State](/usc/42/6903.md?p=31) and local governments and [interstate agencies](/usc/42/6903.md?p=10) for the development of [solid waste management](/usc/42/6903.md?p=28) plans (including [resource recovery](/usc/42/6903.md?p=22) and [resource conservation](/usc/42/6903.md?p=21) systems) which will promote improved [solid waste management](/usc/42/6903.md?p=28) techniques (including more effective organizational arrangements), new and improved methods of collection, separation, and recovery of [solid waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=27), and the environmentally safe [disposal](/usc/42/6903.md?p=3) of nonrecoverable residues;
  - (2) providing training grants in occupations involving the design, operation, and maintenance of [solid waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=27) [disposal](/usc/42/6903.md?p=3) systems;
  - (3) prohibiting future open dumping on the land and requiring the conversion of existing [open dumps](/usc/42/6903.md?p=14) to facilities which do not pose a danger to the environment or to health;
  - (4) assuring that [hazardous waste management](/usc/42/6903.md?p=7) [practices](/usc/42/17061.md?p=19) are conducted in a manner which protects human health and the environment;
  - (5) requiring that [hazardous waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=5) be properly managed in the first instance thereby reducing the need for corrective action at a future date;
  - (6) minimizing the generation of [hazardous waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=5) and the land [disposal](/usc/42/6903.md?p=3) of [hazardous waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=5) by encouraging process substitution, materials recovery, properly conducted recycling and reuse, and [treatment](/usc/42/6903.md?p=34);
  - (7) establishing a viable Federal-[State](/usc/42/6903.md?p=31) partnership to carry out the purposes of this chapter and insuring that the [Administrator](/usc/42/6903.md?p=1) will, in carrying out the provisions of subchapter III of this chapter, give a high priority to assisting and cooperating with [States](/usc/42/6903.md?p=31) in obtaining full authorization of [State](/usc/42/6903.md?p=31) programs under subchapter III;
  - (8) providing for the promulgation of guidelines for [solid waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=27) collection, transport, separation, recovery, and [disposal](/usc/42/6903.md?p=3) [practices](/usc/42/17061.md?p=19) and systems;
  - (9) promoting a national research and development program for improved [solid waste management](/usc/42/6903.md?p=28) and [resource conservation](/usc/42/6903.md?p=21) techniques, more effective organizational arrangements, and new and improved methods of collection, separation, and recovery, and recycling of [solid wastes](/usc/42/6903.md?p=27) and environmentally safe [disposal](/usc/42/6903.md?p=3) of nonrecoverable residues;
  - (10) promoting the [demonstration](/usc/42/6903.md?p=2A), [construction](/usc/42/6903.md?p=2), and application of [solid waste management](/usc/42/6903.md?p=28), [resource recovery](/usc/42/6903.md?p=22), and [resource conservation](/usc/42/6903.md?p=21) systems which preserve and enhance the quality of air, water, and land resources; and
  - (11) establishing a cooperative effort among the Federal, [State](/usc/42/6903.md?p=31), and local governments and private enterprise in order to recover valuable materials and energy from [solid waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=27).
- (b) **National policy—** The Congress hereby declares it to be the national policy of the United States that, wherever feasible, the generation of [hazardous waste](/usc/42/6903.md?p=5) is to be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible. Waste that is nevertheless generated should be treated, stored, or disposed of so as to minimize the present and future threat to human health and the environment.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 1003, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2798; amended Pub. L. 98–616, title I, § 101(b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3224.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 3251 of this title, prior to the general amendment of the Solid Waste Disposal Act by Pub. L. 94–580.

### Amendments

1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–616, § 101(b)(1), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a).

Subsec. (a)(4) to (11). Pub. L. 98–616, § 101(b)(2), struck out par. (4) which provided for regulating the treatment, storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous wastes which have adverse effects on health and the environment, added pars. (4) to (7), and redesignated former pars. (5) to (8) as (8) to (11), respectively.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–616, § 101(b)(1), added subsec. (b).