Hazardous Waste Manifests

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has jurisdiction over the movement of hazardous waste between provinces (interprovincial) and across international borders.

ECCC administers the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (SOR/2021-25) (XBR). Visit the ECCC's User guide for more information.

ECCC uses a manifest, known in its regulations as a movement document, which can be obtained through the Canadian Notification and Movement Tracking System (CNMTS). ECCC’s movement document can meet provincial regulatory requirements and be used instead of the B.C.’s paper-based manifest only when it is used for international shipments and under certain conditions.

However, ECCC’s movement document does not meet provincial regulatory requirements for interprovincial or intra-provincial shipments of hazardous waste from B.C. Visit the ECCC's User guide for more information.

The details of the usage of the movement document are explained below.

International movement documents

CNMTS is used to track the movement of hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable material from Canada to the final country of destination (or vice versa), until it has been recycled or disposed of.

B.C. and ECCC have entered into an agreement where ECCC’s movement document issued from CNMTS for only international shipments will be deemed as B.C. manifests (i.e., manifest and identifying number being issued by the B.C. Government).  This agreement is valid until March 31, 2026; B.C. and Canada may renew the agreement after this date. In summary, the movement document produced from CNMTS may be used instead of the B.C. paper manifest for hazardous waste shipped from B.C. directly to another country while this agreement is in place.

Interprovincial and intra-provincial movement document

1. The movement document produced by CNMTS must not be used to replace the B.C. manifest for hazardous waste shipped from B.C. to another place within B.C. (intra-provincial) nor to another province/territory (interprovincial)
2. If a movement document is used for the intra-provincial movement or interprovincial movement, a B.C. paper manifest must also be used in order to meet the provincial regulations

The federal Transport Canada has jurisdiction over the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada and administers the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and Regulations (TDGR). The TDGR requires a shipping document to track the movement of dangerous goods. Dangerous goods that are no longer used for their original purposes are hazardous waste, except for Class 1 and 7. Some hazardous wastes are not dangerous goods.

If a dangerous goods shipping document is used to transport hazardous waste originated or shipped from B.C., then the B.C. manifest must also be used. The dangerous goods shipping document or bill of lading will only meet the federal TDGR but does not comply with provincial regulatory requirements.

If using only the B.C. manifest for shipments from B.C., the regulated will meet both the provincial and federal regulations, including Transport Canada’s TDGR. Please note that there may be some changes that you may need to make to the provincial manifest to meet certain TDGR requirements. These came about with their 2015 amendments to the TDGR. For more information see the guidance titled “Changes to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations Affecting the B.C. Manifest and Supplement Forms”.

If a paper form or electronic manifest obtained from another province or territory is used for hazardous waste originated or shipped from B.C., the B.C. paper manifest must also be used. The other province’s manifest does not meet section 46(3)(b) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation. 

A manifest from other provinces and territories may be used only if the hazardous waste was shipped from outside of B.C.

A Multiple Consignors Form is used with a manifest when a carrier collects hazardous wastes with the same shipping name from more than one consignor, in order to establish a bulk load.

    

In B.C., waste carriers may carry a completed manifest form with a Multiple Consignor Form (Form 3) attached when collecting hazardous waste of the same type from more than one consignor and delivering the completed shipment to a single receiving location. The form is intended to reduce paperwork by allowing the carrier to attach the completed multiple consignor's forms (s) to a single manifest rather than using a manifest for each consignor.

The cumulative total amount of waste in the load must be inserted on the multiple consignors’ form (last column on the right) after each pickup throughout the trip. This is a requirement of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. Once the load is complete, the total amount of hazardous waste being transported to the consignee (receiver) must be entered on the manifest form.

A Multiple Carrier Form is used with a manifest when a shipment is transported by more than one carrier from a single consignor to a single destination (consignee).

    

A Multiple Wastes Form is used with a manifest when there is not enough room on the manifest to record all the wastes being carried in one load from one consignor and being delivered to one consignee.

    

When the hazardous waste quantity received is 5 percent greater or less than shown on the manifest, the receiver must notify the director and submit an annual summary report. 

Notifying single 5 percent manifest discrepancy

Single notification for a 5 percent discrepancy in hazardous waste quantity is required to meet section 5(4) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation. This notification must:

• Be submitted within 3 days of receiving the hazardous waste
• Be reported by the receiver/consignee
• Include a scanned copy of the manifest with the description of the discrepancy
• Include a separate written description of the discrepancy and any applicable corrective action taken
• Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below

Follow this naming convention to submit the notification:

1. The email subject line must follow this format XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD SIN, where:
   • XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
   • YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day) 
   • YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
   • MD SIN = short for “manifest discrepancy – single”
2. Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.

NOTE: both the consignor and the receiver must still submit, respectively, Copy 1 and Copy 3 of the manifest to the Ministry as required under the Regulation. This 5% discrepancy notification does not remove the submission of the applicable copies of the manifest to the Ministry.

Submitting annual summary of 5 percent discrepancy report

An annual summary discrepancy report is also required in addition to the manifest discrepancy report to meet section 5(5) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation. The annual discrepancy report must:

• Be submitted within 60 days of the end of the calendar year
• Be prepared by the receiver/consignee
• Include annual summary that contains all manifest discrepancies for the previous year and explanation of remedial actions taken
• Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below

Follow this naming convention to submit the report:

1. The email subject line must follow this format XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD SUM, where:
   • XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
   • YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day) 
   • YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
   • MD SUM = short for “manifest discrepancy – summary”
2. Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.

The owner of a hazardous management facility must not accept hazardous waste that does not match the description of the waste on the accompanying manifest [HWR s. 5(2)(a)].  Should this occur, the receiver must take the following actions (depending on the scenario that applies).

Scenario 1: Waste does not match the description on the manifest, but the intended receiver is authorized to manage the waste.

If the owner of the hazardous waste facility has authorization, as identified in the facility’s approved operational plan, to manage the waste that is misidentified on (or omitted from) the manifest, they do not need to seek director approval to receive the waste as required in HWR s.5(2)(c). However, the manifest information discrepancy report, described below, must be submitted in accordance with HWR s.5(2)(d).

The notification must:

• Be immediately reported by the generator, agents/consultants or the receiver/consignee
• Include a scanned copy of the manifest and a description of the error/discrepancy
• Include a separate written description of the error/discrepancy, the correct information and any corrective action is taken
• Use the authorization number of the receiving facility as part of the naming convention
• Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below

Follow this naming convention to submit the notification:

1. The email subject line must follow this format: XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD INF, where:
   • XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
   • YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day) 
   • YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
   • MD INF = short for “manifest discrepancy - information”
2. Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.

Scenario 2: Waste does not match the description on the manifest and the intended receiver is not authorized to manage the waste.

If the owner of a hazardous waste facility does not have the authorization to manage waste that is misidentified on (or omitted from) the manifest, they must immediately notify a director to seek authorization to accept the waste or for other instructions. They must receive authorization to receive the waste before the waste can be off-loaded and managed at the facility [HWR s. 5(2)(c-d)].

Request for authorization to receive the waste can be initiated by:

• Emailing: Authorizations.South@gov.bc.ca or Authorizations.North@gov.bc.ca, if south or north of Williams Lake, respectively  
• Attach any supporting documentation you may have to support your request

Follow this naming convention to submit the request for authorization:

1. The email subject line must follow this format: XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD MD REQ4AUTH, or NO AUTH# YYYY-MM-DD MD REQ4AUTH, where:
   • XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site; if your site has authorization for other types of hazardous waste
   • NO AUTH# = short for no authorization number, if your site does not have any type of authorization to receive hazardous waste
   • YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day) 
   • MD REQ4AUTH = short for “manifest discrepancy – request for authorization”
2. Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.

If authorization to receive the waste cannot be obtained, it is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that the waste is transported to a facility that has the appropriate authorization to manage the waste.

The owner of a hazardous management facility must not accept hazardous waste that is not accompanied by a manifest [HWR s.5(2)(b)].  Should this occur, the receiver must take the following actions (depending on the scenario that applies).

Scenario 1: No manifest, but the intended receiver is authorized to manage the waste

If the owner of the hazardous waste facility has authorization, as identified in the facility’s approved operational plan, to manage the waste that was not accompanied by a manifest, they do not need to seek director approval to receive the waste as required in HWR s.5(2)(c). Follow the steps described in scenario 1 of the “Reporting Incorrect Information on Manifest” section above.

Scenario 2: No manifest and intended receiver is not authorized to manage the waste

If the owner of a hazardous waste facility does not have the authorization to manage waste that arrived without a manifest, they must immediately notify a director to seek authorization to accept the waste or for other instructions [HWR s.5(2)(c-d)]. They must receive authorization to receive the waste before the waste can be offloaded and managed at the facility.

Follow the steps described in scenario 2 of the “Reporting Incorrect Information on Manifest” section above to seek the director’s authorization to receive the waste.

If authorization to receive the waste cannot be obtained, it is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that the waste is transported to a facility that has the appropriate authorization to manage the waste.