METHODOLOGY
How every listing on US Waste Index is verified
Every fact on a facility page traces back to a named public record, not a self-reported claim. This page explains where that record comes from and what it can and can't be used for.
Data sources
- ECHO Exporter (EPA) — facility identity, location, and facility-level compliance summary.
- RCRAInfo (EPA) — hazardous-waste handler detail: RCRA activity/role, permits, evaluations, and violations.
Both are public federal datasets covering regulated hazardous-waste handlers under RCRA Subtitle C. Neither covers medical, municipal solid, recycling, shredding, or oil & gas waste — those are different regulatory programs with different custodians, which is why those categories are not yet data-backed on this site.
The canonical layer is read-only
Ingested permits, violations, evaluations, and compliance summaries are written only by our ingestion pipeline. No vendor, buyer, or paid placement can alter them. A facility operator can claim their profile to add a description, contact details, and services — but the regulatory record underneath stays exactly what EPA published.
Compliance signals
- Significant non-complier — flagged by EPA (RCRA_SNC_FLAG).
- Open violation(s) — unresolved violations on record.
- No open violations — no unresolved violations as of the snapshot date shown on that facility's profile.
How top-rated lists are ranked
Our top-rated lists rank businesses in one metro area for one service (for example, dumpster rental in Houston). The score is the business's Google rating, weighted by its number of reviews: every business starts from a neutral 4.0 (counted as 20 reviews), and its real reviews move the score from there. A 4.9 from 10 reviews therefore does not outrank a 4.7 from 400.
- A business needs at least 10 Google reviews, must be listed on Google under that service, and must be within about 40 km of the metro's centre.
- A list is published only when at least 5 businesses qualify.
- Badges such as USDOT registration or a verified listing are shown for information and never change a score.
- Nobody can pay to rank higher. Claiming a listing is free and adds details, not points.
Coverage today and what's next
Hazardous-waste compliance data is live today for five states — Texas, California, New York, Florida, and Ohio (see Locations for each state's coverage). Several other categories, including document shredding, are also live today using public business-listing data rather than EPA data. A category with no data source wired in yet renders as "coverage expanding" — a real, clickable page rather than a 404. Category pages that browse by state (for example, Hazardous Waste → Texas) are live for Texas today, with the other four states next.
Frequently asked
Can a facility pay to change its compliance record?
No. Permits, violations, evaluations, and compliance summaries are written only by our ingestion pipeline from EPA source data and are read-only everywhere on the site, including claimed profiles.
How current is the data?
The canonical layer is rebuilt from EPA ECHO Exporter and RCRAInfo on a periodic refresh, not in real time. Every profile reflects the most recent ingested snapshot — always verify against EPA ECHO before making a compliance decision.
Why is only hazardous waste "live" today?
It is the only category backed by data we have actually ingested (RCRA Subtitle C via EPA ECHO/RCRAInfo). Categories like recycling or garbage collection depend on commercial-hauler data — municipal franchise lists, licensing, and business listings — that has not been ingested yet, so those pages render as "coverage expanding" rather than showing fabricated listings.
Data reflects the most recent EPA snapshot and may lag the official record. Always verify against EPA ECHO for regulatory decisions. See also About the data.