Disaster Debris Mitigation and Planning

  • Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris

    On July 25, 2024, EPA published a new document, Creating Disaster-Resilient Buildings to Minimize Disaster Debris (pdf)(5 MB) that provides practical actions for communities to withstand natural disasters and minimize disaster debris.

  • All Hazards Waste Management Planning Tool

    This tool assists emergency managers and planners in the public and private sectors in creating or updating a comprehensive plan for managing materials and wastes generated from manmade and natural disasters. 

Natural and human-made disasters produce debris, making material and waste planning and management a critical part of disaster mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. Responding to disasters can generate additional materials and wastes that need to be managed. Material and waste management includes staging, segregation, processing, sampling, characterization, packaging, transportation, monitoring, reuse, recycling, composting, treatment, and disposal, as well as mitigation activities. These activities are generally referred to collectively as waste or debris management.

Learn more about how communities can increase their resilience to all disasters and hazards through material and waste planning and management.

  • Disaster Debris Streams

    Explore what materials and wastes may be in debris generated from natural and human-made disasters.

    Identify debris streams

  • Mitigating Disaster Debris

    worker standing on a platform with air conditioning units to prevent flooding in a coastal area

    Find ways to conserve resources, reduce waste, and minimize environmental impacts before and after disasters.

    Learn resilience strategies
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Last updated on May 9, 2025