We\u2019ve had a few reports from OPSGROUP members lately about issues with how international aircraft trash is handled when arriving in the US.<\/p>\n
In one case at KMIA\/Miami<\/strong>, a handler said that CBP asked them to track the tail numbers<\/strong> of any aircraft that disposed of trash after leaving the customs ramp. If this happens, CBP may issue fines\u2014and if handlers don\u2019t report it, they<\/em> could be held responsible instead.<\/p>\n While there\u2019s no sign of any new rules, it\u2019s a good reminder of how strict the existing requirements are and how expensive it can get if you don\u2019t comply.<\/p>\n So, what exactly counts as regulated garbage, and how should it be handled?<\/p>\n Certain waste can carry animal diseases or pests into the US. The USDA<\/strong> and APHIS<\/strong> require this type of trash to be handled under strict rules (CFR Title 7 330.400 – 402<\/a>, and CFR Title 9 94.5.<\/a>).<\/p>\n Regulated garbage includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n Time limits matter:<\/strong><\/p>\n You’ll need to pass this trash to a USDA-approved service so they can dispose of it.<\/p>\n Important:<\/strong> If clean trash gets mixed with food waste, it becomes regulated. So bag international food waste separately and don\u2019t let it mix with clean trash!<\/p>\n Q: I\u2019m arriving from Hawaii or a US territory. Does this apply?<\/strong> Q: What about Alaska?<\/strong> Q: My catering came from a pre-clearance airport like EINN\/Shannon. Am I exempt?<\/strong> While USDA and APHIS make the rules, CBP enforces them<\/strong> at ports of entry.<\/p>\n Enforcement can vary by location, and some airports take a \u201ctreat all trash as regulated\u201d approach to keep things simple.<\/p>\n If you want to keep unregulated trash separate, you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n Otherwise, CBP can assume non-compliance and issue fines.<\/p>\n Safest bet:<\/strong> Treat all international trash as regulated and dispose of it at the customs ramp.<\/p>\n Get in touch with us on blog@ops.group<\/a>. For USDA\/APHIS garbage and quarantine inquiries, email ppq.fsis.mail@usda.gov<\/a> or AskUSDA@usda.gov<\/a>. You can also find contact details for CBP at your intended arrival airport here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019ve had a few reports from OPSGROUP members lately about issues with how international aircraft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":28582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2309,2307,2308,2310],"class_list":{"0":"post-28537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-aphis","9":"tag-garbage","10":"tag-trash","11":"tag-usda"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28537"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28605,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28537\/revisions\/28605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Counts as \u201cRegulated Garbage\u201d<\/h4>\n
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What Isn\u2019t Regulated<\/h4>\n
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Common Questions<\/h4>\n
Yes. USDA\/APHIS rules apply to trash arriving from outside the Continental US – be careful if arriving from Hawaii or other US territories abroad (Guam, Virgin Islands etc). You may have taken off from American soil, but the rules still apply.<\/p>\n
Alaska is considered part of the continental US for this purpose, and so trash from Alaska flights isn’t regulated.<\/p>\n
No. Pre-clearance doesn’t simply let you bypass the disposal rules. Some exceptions do exist but these require certificates\/inspector actions and strict conditions. In practice, pre-clearance alone will not free you from regulated garbage rules. Apparently diseases and pests care not for our paperwork!<\/p>\nEnforcement: Why Miami Came Up<\/h4>\n
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More Questions?<\/h4>\n