New online reporting service

The regulated community is now required to report information through the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority’s online Hazardous Waste Program Registry.

This registry replaces the Hazardous Waste Information Network (HWIN) and paper manifests.

Sign into the registry or create a new registry account.

About hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is waste that, when present in quantities and concentrations that are high enough, pose a threat to human health or the environment if they are improperly stored, transported, treated or disposed.

Hazardous waste is primarily generated by industrial and manufacturing processes, and includes a broad range of materials such as:

  • materials from manufacturing (for example, waste acids, contaminated sludges and chemicals)
  • biomedical wastes from hospitals and other health care facilities
  • waste solvents
  • waste pesticides
  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
  • industrial lubricants and oils containing heavy metals perchloroethylene (perc) waste from dry cleaners
  • discarded batteries

Hazardous waste requires special handling with respect to how it is collected, stored, transported, treated, recovered and disposed to reduce adverse effects to human health and the environment.

We are committed to making producers responsible for the waste generated from their products and packaging to encourage new, innovative and cost-effective ways to recycle products and lower costs for consumers. The Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Program transitioned to a producer responsibility model on October 1, 2021.

Source law

You can find a complete set of rules related to managing hazardous and liquid industrial wastes at:

Hazardous Waste Program Registry

Ontario’s Hazardous Waste Program ensures waste is properly:

  • stored
  • transported
  • recycled
  • recovered
  • disposed

Reporting for Ontario’s Hazardous Waste Program takes place through the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority’s online Hazardous Waste Program Registry. This is outlined in Regulation 347: General – Waste Management.

The registry allows more than 40,000 generators, carriers and receivers of liquid industrial and hazardous waste to:

  • meet their reporting requirements
  • manifest
  • pay fees
  • reduce the number of paper reports they must complete and file

The registry also helps ensure polluters are held accountable through more efficient compliance monitoring and timely enforcement actions.

The registry replaces HWIN and paper manifests, which were used for program registration and reporting in 2022 and earlier.

RPRA HazTrack

The regulated community can also manifest online through RPRA HazTrack, the authority’s mobile app. The app can only be used for manifesting. You can download the app to your mobile device from the:

Access the registry

Visit the registry sign in page to sign in or create a new registry account.

For more information

Explore the following resources for more information about the registry:

If you have questions about the Hazardous Waste Program Registry, contact the authority’s Registry Support Team:

If you have questions about your regulatory requirements, email the ministry at HazardousWasteProgram@ontario.ca.

Manage hazardous wastes

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has a cradle-to-grave management system for subject waste which controls:

  • collection
  • storage
  • transportation
  • treatment
  • recovery
  • disposal

Subject waste is a term used to identify the types of waste that must be registered with the ministry. It includes:

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

Some specific types of waste and types of facilities are exempt from the definition of subject waste as long as the facility meets specific requirements. This means you do not have the registration or manifesting requirements that apply to other hazardous waste and LIWs.

A generator is the operator of a waste generation facility. Generators include:

  • the original generator of the waste (such as, operators of commercial and manufacturing facilities that produce waste)
  • the operator of waste disposal, transfer, bulking or processing facility that forwards materials off-site for subsequent waste management
  • a municipal hazardous or special waste (MHSW) depot
  • other types not listed

Hazardous Waste Information Network

The Hazardous Waste Information Network (HWIN) was the ministry’s online registration and manifesting system used from 2002 until 2022.

The new Hazardous Waste Program Registry has replaced HWIN.

HWIN users will continue to have access to HWIN for a portion of 2023 to:

  • close out 2022 reporting requirements
  • pay fees associated with 2022 activities

If you have money leftover in your HWIN registration account(s) after paying all your outstanding 2022 fees, learn how you can request a refund on HWIN.ca. For assistance with HWIN, email HWINhelpdesk@ontario.ca

Tracking

All off-site movement of hazardous waste and liquid industrial waste is tracked using a digital manifest.

A digital manifest:

  • accompanies the waste from its point of origin to its point of disposal, by being viewable on a device such as a tablet, mobile phone or computer
  • describes the waste
  • shows when it changes hands between generators, carriers and receivers

Approvals

If you are a carrier or receiver of hazardous waste or liquid industrial waste, you must obtain Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA), formerly known as a Certificate of Approval (CofA), from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks outlining the specific conditions of your operations, including wastes you are approved to manage safely.

Get an environmental compliance approval

Waste classes are included in an approval for waste carriers or receivers to identify the waste streams they are permitted to handle or manage.

In Ontario, there are 53 waste classes that are identified by a three-digit number. Each number is assigned to a generic waste description that is used to classify the type of waste being managed.

Please refer to the registration guidance manual for more information on how to correctly choose a waste class and characterize your wastes.