1. Introduction

Ontario has a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework in place to ensure that hazardous waste and liquid industrial waste (LIW) are managed in an environmentally safe manner. This framework — consisting of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA), and regulations under each — provides the Ministry with the authority to regulate and enforce the management of hazardous waste and LIW throughout the province.

Ontario’s framework applies both a listing and testing approach to determine what constitutes hazardous waste. This is similar to the approach used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Generators of subject wastes are required to report their waste management activities including identifying the wastes they generate, where they are generated and how they are managing that waste by submitting a Generator Registration Report (GRR) through the Registry operated and maintained by the Registrar of the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA). Information from GRRs provide the Ministry with information that enables the Ministry to develop waste profiles that promote effective waste monitoring and control.

This manual has been prepared to help waste generators comply with the generator registration and reporting requirements of Regulation 347. Under this regulation, waste generators are required to evaluate their wastes and, if the wastes are determined to be a subject waste, to submit a GRR through the Registry. It is a provincial offence to store, process, dispose or transport liquid industrial or hazardous wastes unless the generator has electronically submitted a GRR or the generator has been approved to use paper forms under section 27.1 of Regulation 347 and a generator registration document for the generator has been posted on the Registry. Out-of-province waste generators who have their liquid industrial or hazardous wastes transported to a waste disposal site in Ontario must also register their wastes through the Registry. Carriers or receivers are not permitted to accept these wastes from any out-of-province generator unless the generator has electronically submitted a GRR or the generator has been approved to use paper forms under section 27.1 of Regulation 347 and a generator registration document for the generator has been posted on the Registry.

The registration of subject wastes takes place in two steps:

Step 1: Determine whether or not you need to register your waste. The sections below will help you determine whether or not you need to register your waste. You may determine that your wastes are not subject to the registration and reporting requirements of Regulation 347, and you do not need to take any further action. However, if you determine that your wastes are subject to the regulation’s registration and reporting requirements, you are required by law to identify your site (and each of the wastes generated there) by submitting a GRR through the Registry.

Step 2: Submit the GRR through the Registry. This manual explains each line of the report and the information that must be entered.

The Ministry may review the report after you have submitted it.

Please also note that this manual should be used in conjunction with Regulation 347 and Ontario Regulation 323/22. The following provisions of Regulation 347 require compliance with or refer to the manual:

  • section 17.2
  • subsections 18 (1), (2), (6) and (7.2)
  • subsection 19 (1)
  • subsection 21 (1)
  • subsections 23 (2), (4) and (5)
  • subsections 24 (2), (4)
  • subsection 25 (2), (6) and (7)
  • subsection 27 (1) and (3)
  • subsection 27.1 (1) and (4)
  • subsection 27.2 (2)
  • subsections 80 (2) and (3)

The following provisions in Ontario Regulation 323/22 require compliance with or refer to the manual:

  • subsection 2 (7)
  • subsection 6 (1)

The manual has also been prepared to help you interpret and comply with the requirements of Regulation 347 and Ontario Regulation 323/22. This information is not, and should not be construed as, legal advice. Please review the relevant provisions of Regulation 347 and Ontario Regulation 323/22. If you have any questions about the application or interpretation of certain provisions or have other legal questions, you should consult a lawyer. You should also use the LDR handbook in conjunction with this manual, to better understand the responsibilities and regulatory requirements for hazardous waste generators, processors, carriers and receivers under the LDR program.

Glossary of terms

The following descriptions of terms are provided for guidance purposes only and may include additional information when compared to the defined terms in regulation.

The terms below that are marked by an asterisk (*) mean that the term is not defined in Regulation 347 (General – Waste Management) made under the Environmental Protection Act.

Users of the Registration Guidance Manual for Generators of Liquid Industrial and Hazardous Waste (manual) should refer to the applicable sections (for example, Section 1) of Regulation 347 made under the Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Regulation 323/22 (Subject Waste Program) made under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 for all of the legal definitions that are contained in the regulation.

Aqueous Waste
Waste that is aqueous and contains less than 1% total organic carbon by weight, and less than 1% total suspended solids by weight. Concentration requirements for aqueous wastes are based on analysis of composite samples on a milligram per litre (mg/L) basis.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Biomedical Waste
Waste that is generated from the health care sector and activities that may pose potential risks to public health, safety and the environment. Biomedical waste is defined in Guideline C-4, Management of Biomedical Waste in Ontario, November 2009, as amended from time to time.
Carrier
The operator of a waste transportation system, including any person who is engaged in the off-site transportation of waste by air, rail, road, highway or water.
Characteristic Waste
Hazardous waste that is corrosive waste, ignitable waste, leachate toxic waste, or reactive waste.
Debris
Solid waste that has a particle size of more than 60 millimetres, and includes material that remains with debris when simple mechanical means or simple physical means are used to separate material that is debris from material that is not debris.
Debris Mixture
A mixture of debris and other material where, based on visual inspection, the volume of the mixture is made up primarily of debris.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: De-characterized Waste
Treated characteristic waste that no longer exhibits the characteristics of a corrosive waste, ignitable waste, leachate toxic waste, or reactive waste.
Director
Refers to the applicable Director for the appropriate related section of Regulation 347 or the Environmental Protection Act.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Director’s Letter of Equivalent Treatment
A written approval that can be used solely to authorize a variance to the technology-based land disposal treatment requirements, based on a determination of equivalent treatment.
Empty Container
A container from which all wastes and other materials have been removed, using the removal practices such as pumping or pouring commonly used for the specific materials, which contains less than 2.5 centimetres of material on the bottom of the container.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA)
An approval issued under Part II.1 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) in respect of activities mentioned in sections 9 (with respect to air emissions) and 27 (with respect to waste management systems and waste disposal sites) of the Environmental Protection Act and section 53 (with respect to sewage works) of the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA). A person may not engage in the activities mentioned unless done under and in accordance with the requirements set out in the ECA, which governs how the activity is undertaken. Section 27 of the EPA states that "no person shall use, operate, establish, alter, enlarge or extend a waste management system or a waste disposal site except under and in accordance with an environmental compliance approval". Unless otherwise noted, this manual uses the term ECA to refer to a waste environmental compliance approval issued under the EPA. For further information on a waste ECA, please refer to the Environmental Compliance Approval webpage at Ontario.ca.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: EPA or Environmental Protection Act
Refers to the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E. 19.
Generator
The operator of a waste generation facility. This includes the original generator of the waste, as well as all subsequent generators that are involved in the chain of custody of the waste, such as a transfer station that receives waste and then ships it to another receiver. When the waste moves from the transfer station to another receiver, the transfer station is considered to be the generator for the subsequent shipment from its facility.
Generator Registration Document
The information about waste generated at a waste generation facility and the facility’s registration status that is described in section 6 of Ontario Regulation 323/22 (Subject Waste Program) made under the RRCEA and posted on the Registry.
Generator Registration Report (GRR)
The report required under section 18 of Regulation 347 which includes the information submitted through the Registry by the waste generator, about the wastes generated at the waste generation facility.
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste is defined in Section 1 of Regulation 347. The definition includes wastes that are characteristic waste, listed waste, pathological waste, PCB waste or radioactive waste. The definition also provides specific exclusions. (See Exemptions section for further information on exclusions)
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Hazardous Waste Number
A four-character code (a letter followed by three numbers) used to identify individual listed wastes in Column 1 of Schedule 1, Part A and Part B of Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 of Regulation 347 and individual characteristic wastes in Column 1 of Schedule 5 of Regulation 347. These numbers are consistent with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) hazardous waste numbers. The Ministry assigned a hazardous waste number to the listed waste or characteristic waste if there was no USEPA hazardous waste number already available (see the E-series wastes in Schedule 5).
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Lab Pack
An overpack container, usually a steel or fibre drum, that generally contains small quantities of chemicals, and where each waste is individually packaged and packed together into a common container.
Land Disposal
The deposit or disposal of waste upon, into, in or through land, including, the deposit of the waste at a dump, the landfilling of the waste, the discharge of the waste into a geological formation by means of a well and the landfarming of the waste, in the case of a petroleum refining waste, and land disposed has a corresponding meaning.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR)
The requirements of Sections 74 through 85 of Regulation 347, which prohibit the disposal of hazardous wastes that are listed wastes or characteristic wastes until they have been treated to meet the land disposal treatment requirements.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Land Disposal Treatment Requirements
Identified in Schedule 1, Part A and Part B of Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 of Regulation 347 for listed wastes and in Schedule 5 of Regulation 347 for characteristic wastes. Land disposal treatment requirements are specified as either concentration-based numerical levels or as specified methods of treatment. Regulated constituents must be treated to meet the treatment requirements prior to land disposal.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: LDR Notification Form
The LDR questionnaire in the GRR will indicate if the LDR Notification Form needs to be completed for listed wastes or characteristic wastes. The LDR notification form is part of the GRR and identifies the type of waste and treatment required or completed. Waste generators can use this form to meet their obligation to notify under the LDR program by providing it to the receiver of the waste.
Liquid Industrial Waste (LIW)
LIW is defined in Section 1 of Regulation 347. The regulatory definition provides specific exclusions. (See Exemptions section for further information on exclusions)
Listed Waste
Hazardous waste that is an acute hazardous waste chemical (Part A of Schedule 2 of Regulation 347), a hazardous industrial waste (Schedule 1 of Regulation 347), a hazardous waste chemical (Part B of Schedule 2 of Regulation 347), or a severely toxic waste (Schedule 3 of Regulation 347).
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Manifest
A document called a manifest that is completed through the Registry or, in unusual circumstances, was obtained from the Ministry. Manifests are required to ship subject waste off-site from a generator to a receiver.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Ministry
Means the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks unless otherwise noted.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) (formerly called Household Hazardous Waste (HHW))
Municipal hazardous or special waste" has the same meaning as in subsection 1 (1) of Ontario Regulation 323/22 (Subject Waste Program) made under the RRCEA and means waste that consists of municipal hazardous waste or municipal special waste, or any combination of them, whether or not the waste is owned, controlled or managed by a municipality, but does not include used or unused lubricating oil; (“déchets municipaux dangereux ou spéciaux”). Examples of this type of waste include waste paints, solvents, batteries, items containing mercury, pharmaceutical wastes, unused cleaning products from homes, etc.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Depot
A facility that accepts municipal hazardous or special waste from consumers. A MHSW depot has a valid ECA to accept MHSW, unless the facility is specifically exempt from this requirement. MHSW depots typically accept household wastes such as paints, solvents, batteries, mercury-containing items, etc. Some MHSW depots may also accept small quantities of waste from industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) waste generators.
Non-aqueous Waste
Waste that is not aqueous waste. Concentration requirements for non-aqueous wastes are based on analysis of grab samples on a milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) basis.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code
A six-digit industry classification numbering system that describes the nature of a business.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: On-site
Management of waste at the location where the waste is generated. Waste may be processed or disposed of without leaving its point of generation. Specific provisions are included in Regulation 347 with respect to on-site waste management (see Section 17.1 and Section 17.2 of Regulation 347). Note: certain on-site disposal methods (for example, landfill, landfarm or incineration) require an ECA for a waste disposal site.
Ontario Regulation 323/22
Refers to Ontario Regulation 323/22 (Subject Waste Program) made under the RRCEA.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: OWRA facility
Sewage works or wastewater treatment plant with an ECA issued under Part II.1 of the EPA for activities under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act.
Receiver
The operator of any facility to which waste is transferred by a carrier. This includes transfer stations, processing facilities and final disposal sites.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Recyclable Material
Those wastes that meet the requirements of subsection 3 (2) of Regulation 347. Recyclable waste materials are exempt from Part V of the EPA and Regulation 347.
Registry
The electronic public registry known in English as the Resource Productivity and Recovery Registry and in French as Registre de la productivité et de la récupération des ressources. The Registry is maintained and operated by the Registrar of the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Regulated Constituents
Any generic name or other description listed in the regulated constituent column in Schedule 1, Part A and Part B of Schedule 2 and Schedules 3, 5 and 6 of Regulation 347. All regulated constituents in a listed waste or characteristic waste must meet the treatment requirements before land disposal.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Regulation 347
Refers to Regulation 347 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (General - Waste Management) made under the EPA.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Remediation Waste
Waste generated during the clean-up of contaminated sites. Such wastes are not generated during the course of normal industrial or manufacturing operations, but rather are the result of spills of hazardous waste, or product chemicals, or through historical management practices.
RRCEA
The Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016.
Site
A site means one property and includes nearby properties owned or leased by the same person where passage from one property to another involves crossing, but not travelling along, a public highway.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Small Quantity Exemption (SQE)
An exemption provided for some waste types under the definitions of hazardous waste and LIW. The exempted quantities vary and depend on the specific waste characterization. Accordingly, this exemption cannot be determined until the waste has been evaluated and the waste characterization established. Although the SQE quantities of waste are exempt from generator registration and reporting requirements, the small quantity is still waste, and must be transported by an approved waste carrier and disposed of at an approved waste receiver.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Small Quantity Generator (SQG)
An operator of a waste generation facility that produces a total of less than 100 kg of hazardous waste chemicals, hazardous industrial wastes, plus characteristic wastes, in any given month. Section 80 of Regulation 347 outlines special provisions for small quantity waste generators with respect to LDR requirements and the conditions that must be met.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Soil
In this manual soil is unconsolidated earth material composing the superficial geologic strata (material overlying bedrock) consisting of clay, silt, sand or gravel size particles.
Soil Mixture
Includes a mixture of soil and liquids, sludges or solids, where, (a) the mixture cannot be separated by simple mechanical removal processes; and (b) based on visual inspection, the volume of the mixture is made up primarily of soil or other finely divided material that is similar to soil.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Specific Gravity
The ratio of the weight or mass of a given volume of substance to that of an equal volume of another substance (water for liquids and solids).
Subject Waste
A term defined in Section 1 of Regulation 347. Subject waste means hazardous waste and LIW, as well as waste that was characteristic waste but that has been treated so that it is no longer characteristic waste if the waste may not be disposed of by land disposal under subsection 79 (1). However, the definition of "subject waste" does not include a number of wastes, including intact waste batteries that are destined for a waste battery recovery facility and waste from the professional office of a member of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario. See subsection 1 (3) of Regulation 347 for a complete list. The term is used in a number of sections of Regulation 347, such as the generator registration and manifesting sections.
Thermal Treatment
Includes incineration, gasification, pyrolysis or plasma arc treatment. Thermal treatment is not considered processing.
Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory
The list available on the Registry and maintained by the Registrar as required under section 2 of Ontario Regulation 323/22.
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)
This term is defined in Section 1 of Regulation 347. This procedure is an analytical test method that is used to identify whether a waste exhibits the characteristic of leachate toxicity, and to measure compliance with treatment standards.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Underlying Hazardous Constituent (UHC)
A regulated constituent of a characteristic waste identified in Schedule 6 of Regulation 347, which, if present, must be treated to meet land disposal treatment requirements, but nonetheless does not cause the waste to exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Waste Characterization (formerly referred to as Waste Characteristic)
Identified by a single letter that indicates the type of hazardous waste or LIW it contains, based on the chemical characteristics or source of a waste material. The waste characterization identifies the hazard associated with the waste. A waste may have more than one waste characterization.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Waste Class
A three-digit number assigned to a generic waste description used to classify the type of waste being managed. Waste classes are included in the ECA for waste carriers and receivers, to identify the waste streams that they are permitted to handle or manage. A list of Ontario waste classes can be found in Appendix A: Ontario Waste Classes.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Waste ECA
An environmental compliance approval issued under Part II.1 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) in respect of activities mentioned in section 27 of the Environmental Protection Act with respect to waste management systems and waste disposal sites.
Waste Generation Facility
Those facilities, equipment, and operations that are involved in the production, collection, handling or storage of waste at a site.
*term is not defined in Regulation 347: Waste Number
The combination of the three-digit waste class and the single-letter primary waste characterization used to classify a waste stream for generator registration and manifesting purposes.

List of acronyms

ASTM
American Society for Testing and Materials
CAS #
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number
ECA
Environmental Compliance Approval
EGN
Emergency Generator Number
EPA
Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E. 19
GRR
Generator Registration Report
HWIN
Hazardous Waste Information Network
IC&I
Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (Generators)
LDR
Land Disposal Restrictions
LIW
Liquid Industrial Waste
MHSW
Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System
OWRA
Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40
PCB
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
RPRA
Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority
RRCEA
Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, S.O. 2016 c. 12
SQE
Small Quantity Exemption (Waste)
SQG
Small Quantity Generator
TCLP
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure
TDGA
Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 (Canada)
UHC
Underlying Hazardous Constituent
USEPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
WDTA
Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016, S.O. 2002, c. 12. Sched. 2
WEEE
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Important aspects of the manual for waste generators

Key aspects of the manual are as follows:

  • The manual provides the Ministry’s guidance on who needs to register. It also provides an overview of Ontario’s hazardous waste management rules and the requirements for generators, carriers and receivers of subject waste.
  • The manual identifies information that must be included in a generator registration report (GRR), manifest and notice of storage for the purposes of complying with Regulation 347.
  • The manual includes the regulatory requirements in Regulation 347 that put in place a land disposal restrictions (LDR) program. Under these rules, listed wastes and characteristic wastes that are to be land disposed must first be treated to meet specific land disposal treatment requirements. The manual describes how the LDR requirements affect the registration process, and provides information on the program, including reporting, notification, record-keeping, waste analysis and land disposal treatment requirements for hazardous waste. For more detailed information on the LDR program, please also consult the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Handbook (handbook).
  • This manual includes flow charts that are designed to help generators determine whether they need to register and includes a section that explains Ontario’s LDR requirements, and how to determine if they apply to a generator’s waste stream.
  • Regulation 347 contains a number of descriptive schedules that list various hazardous wastes. These schedules reflect the changes that relate to the province’s LDR program. The lists in the schedules contain not only the hazardous waste number and waste description, but also the regulated constituents and their corresponding LDR treatment standards.
  • The manual also identifies requirements for on-site processing of wastes that are subject to the LDR rules. For example, the LDR program includes additional treatment, notification and record-keeping requirements for wastes that are processed on-site. It also requires generators to register subject wastes which are no longer hazardous, but which need further treatment to meet the land disposal treatment requirements.
  • The manual also explains a number of other regulatory requirements in Regulation 347 that are designed to improve the management of subject wastes. The requirements outlined below may apply not only to generators that are subject to LDR requirements, but also to all waste generation facilities that are used primarily for activities other than waste management. This will depend on the type of wastes generated (non-hazardous and hazardous) and the waste activities conducted on-site.
    • Mixing, blending and bulking of wastes
      • To improve the management of wastes, Regulation 347 prohibits the mixing of hazardous wastes with other wastes or materials for purposes other than processing. This provision may affect hazardous waste generators, carriers and receivers, unless this activity is authorized by a waste Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) issued under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). The provision also ensures that dilution cannot be used to avoid meeting the LDR treatment standards.
    • On-site storage of subject wastes
      • The regulation contains notification, management, and record-keeping requirements for wastes that are stored on-site at a waste generation facility for more than 90 days.
      • An ECA is required for wastes stored on-site for more than 24 months.
    • On-site processing of wastes
      • The regulation describes when waste ECAs are required and when waste ECAs are not required when generators are processing wastes on-site to clarify existing practices to ensure consistency with respect to on-site processing.
  • The manual clarifies current practices to improve waste management and to ensure greater consistency across the province.
  • The manual also includes the following items:
    • an explanation of the Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory, including how it works and how a company becomes listed
    • a discussion on how to determine the appropriate waste classes for generator waste streams
    • a discussion on manifesting
  • The manual contains additional information on waste management practices in Ontario.
  • Appendix D: Questions and answers include questions and answers about the requirements for generator registration.