About waste transportation systems

A waste transportation system is a type of waste management system that involves transporting waste beyond the boundaries of a site or from site to site. In Ontario, waste transportation activities are governed by the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), Regulation 347: General – Waste Management, and Ontario Regulation 119/25: Registration under Part II.2 of the Act – Waste Transportation Systems (O. Reg. 119/25).

This page is intended to help you determine which environmental permission is required for your waste transportation system.

Waste

Waste is defined in the EPA and includes all materials that are normally considered waste such as:

  • ashes
  • garbage
  • domestic waste
  • industrial waste
  • commercial waste
  • construction debris
  • residues from industrial and commercial activities.

Waste can be categorized into either hazardous or non-hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste requires special handling with respect to how it is collected, stored, transported, treated, recovered and disposed, and is a subject waste. Subject waste must be registered with the ministry through the Hazardous Waste Program Registry, and includes:

  • liquid industrial waste (LIW)
  • hazardous waste, including hazardous waste treated to remove characteristic hazards such as reactivity and ignitability

Regulation 347 also designates specific wastes, meaning it includes requirements for determining whether a material is a waste, and if so, how it should be managed. Section 2 of Regulation 347 designates a number of materials as waste, while section 3 of Regulation 347 sets out a number of requirements that, when met, exempts certain wastes from the requirements of Part V of the EPA and Regulation 347.

Learn more about definitions and categories for waste under the EPA and Regulation 347.

Learn more about waste management in Ontario.

EASR waste

O. Reg. 119/25 defines certain types of waste as EASR waste. The type of waste being managed (EASR waste or non-EASR waste) will impact which environmental permission you will require for your waste transportation system.

The following is not considered EASR waste:

  • biomedical or treated biomedical
  • pathological waste
  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) waste
  • radioactive waste
  • any waste that is mixed, blended, bulked, intermingled, or otherwise combined with asbestos

For the purposes of this regulation, a type of EASR waste includes:

  • non-hazardous (municipal) waste (such as blue box materials and leaf and yard waste)
  • asbestos waste
  • hauled sewage
  • each class of liquid industrial waste
  • each class of hazardous waste (excluding pathological waste, PCB waste and radioactive waste)

Environmental permissions for waste transportation systems

The ministry sets environmental standards and requirements for managing hazardous and non-hazardous waste to protect human health and the environment. Environmental permissions set out specific operating, monitoring and reporting requirements that owners and operators of a waste management system must comply with.

Unless exempt, environmental permissions for waste transportation systems may include an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) or registration in the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR). In some cases, you may require both an ECA and registration in the EASR for your waste transportation system.

Exemptions

Certain waste management systems may be exempt from requiring an environmental permission, depending on the type of waste management activities or type of waste being transported. To determine if your waste management system is exempt from requiring an environmental permission, you should review the EPA and its associated regulations, including:

  • Regulation 347: General Waste Management exempts certain waste management activities and certain wastes being transported. For example:
    • a system that only manages agricultural wastes is exempt.
    • a system that only transports intact waste batteries that are transferred by a generator and are destined for a waste battery recovery facility is exempt as long as the owner of the facility agrees to accept the waste and the required documentation is in place
  • Ontario Regulation 101/94: Recycling and Composting of Municipal Waste exempts blue box waste management systems and leaf and yard waste systems under certain conditions.
  • Ontario Regulation 406/19: On-site and Excess Soil Management exempts transportation of excess soil under certain conditions. If your waste management system is exempt from requiring an environmental permission under the EPA, this means you do not require an ECA or registration in the EASR. However, this does not relieve you from of any obligation to comply with any other legal requirement.

Find out what environmental permission you need

The environmental permission required for your waste transportation system depends on the type of waste managed and the waste management activities being undertaken.

Both permissions required

The waste management system manages EASR and non-EASR waste through the following activities:

  • collection
  • handling
  • transferring
  • transporting
  • temporary in-vehicle storage in accordance with Sections 12 and/or 13 of O. Reg. 119/25

Only ECA required

The waste management system manages only non-EASR waste (such as biomedical and PCB waste)  
or  
The waste management system activities include more than* collection, handling, transferring, and or transporting. For example, processing such as:

  • mixing
  • blending
  • bulking

Only EASR registration required

The waste management system manages only EASR waste through the following activities:

  • collection
  • handling
  • transferring
  • transporting
  • temporary in-vehicle storage in accordance with Sections 12 and/or 13 of O. Reg. 119/25

Land application or disposal of hauled sewage will require a waste disposal site ECA along with a waste management system permission for the transportation of hauled sewage. The company who holds the waste disposal site ECA is responsible for making sure the land application of hauled sewage directly from a waste management system follows the terms and conditions in the site ECA.

Environmental Activity and Sector Registry

O. Reg. 119/25 prescribes certain waste transportation systems that are required to be registered in the EASR, if all the registration criteria are met. You must register in the EASR if your waste transportation system meets all the following requirements:

  • The waste management system is a waste transportation system, meaning it transports waste beyond the boundaries of a site or from site to site.
  • Only waste transportation vehicles are used to transport waste. This means only motor vehicles (such as trucks, vans and including trailers and other equipment operated in combination) travelling on roads and highways.
  • Management of waste includes only the collection, handling, transportation and or transfer of EASR waste.
    • The temporary, in-vehicle storage of waste is also allowed under certain conditions for hauled sewage or waste destined for out-of-province.
  • Each type of EASR waste is managed separately from every other type of waste, meaning each type of waste must be kept in a separate compartment or container. For example:
    • Hazardous waste class 251L must be kept in a separate container from hazardous waste class 251T.
  • The waste management system does not manage a type of EASR waste, such as hazardous waste, that is mixed, blended, bulked, or otherwise intermingled with another type of waste or material. For example:

Refer to the Waste Transportation System guidance for EASR for more information on what you need to complete the EASR registration and the activity requirements you must comply with after you register.

Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA)

If your waste transportation system is not prescribed in O. Reg. 119/25, you cannot register in the EASR and you may be required to apply for an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA).   
The following outlines when a waste transportation system may require an ECA:

  • A waste management system that is not a waste transportation system, meaning it does more than just transporting waste beyond the boundaries of a site or from site to site.
  • A waste transportation system that uses a vehicle that is not a waste transportation vehicle to transport waste.
    • for example, transporting waste using air, rail, or barge
  • A waste management system that manages only non-EASR waste.
    • for example, managing biomedical, radioactive, or PCB waste only
  • A waste management system that manages a type of EASR waste, such as hazardous waste, that is mixed, blended, bulked, or otherwise intermingled with another type of waste or material.
  • A waste management system that mixes, blends, bulks or in any other way intermingles hazardous waste with any other waste or material.
  • The management of waste includes more than just the the collection, handling, transferring and or transporting of waste. For example:
    • Mixing, processing, or disposal. The disposal (land application and or spreading) of hauled sewage may require 2 permissions.
    • In-transit storage of hauled sewage such as pre-fabricated tanks for in-transit storage up to 14 days.

For more information on applying for an ECA for waste management systems, refer to the Guide to applying for an ECA.

If you are currently operating under an existing ECA, but your waste management system is prescribed by O. Reg. 119/25, you are required to register the prescribed activities in the EASR by August 1, 2028. 

Learn more about when you are required to transition.

When 2 permissions are required

There are 2 scenarios where you may require 2 permissions for your waste transportation system.

The first scenario is if your waste transportation system manages both EASR waste and non-EASR waste, and the only management of waste is the collection, handling, transferring, and/or transporting of the waste.

  • For example, if your waste transportation system only collects, handles, transports and transfers biomedical waste and liquid industrial waste, you are required to obtain an ECA for managing the biomedical waste (non-EASR waste), and register in the EASR for managing the liquid industrial waste (EASR waste). In this case, you will need to establish signage on your waste transportation vehicle that includes both permission numbers, if the vehicle will be used to transport EASR and non-EASR waste.

The second scenario is if you are managing hauled sewage and your waste transportation system includes disposal (spreading or land application), in addition to the collection, handling, transport, and transfer of the hauled sewage.

  • In this case, you are required to register in the EASR for the collection, handling, transport and transfer of the hauled sewage, and obtain an ECA for the waste disposal site if you own the site.

The land application and or spreading of hauled sewage must be done in accordance with the terms and conditions of the waste disposal site ECA.

  • It is the company who is stated on the waste disposal site ECA who is responsible for complying with the terms and conditions in the ECA and must require that any person carrying out the work (such as disposing of the hauled sewage directly from the waste transportation system to the land) also complies with the terms and conditions.

Contact us

Contact the Client Services and Permissions Branch: