legislation & regulations

Ministry of Environment

Amendments to the Hazardous Waste Regulation

The Environmental Management Act (EMA) was brought into force in July 2004. It prohibits the introduction of waste into the environment in such a manner or quantity as to cause pollution, except in accordance with a regulation, permit, approval or code of practice issued under the Act. The Hazardous Waste Regulation (HWR) addresses the proper handling and disposal of hazardous wastes, under provisions of the EMA.

The Ministry of Environment is continuing the process of reviewing and revising the Hazardous Waste Regulation. The process follows the ministry policy of continuous improvement and commitment to review our regulations on a regular basis and to update them as appropriate.

The ministry is revising the current regulation in two stages. The first stage, completed in December 2008, addressed some housekeeping and other minor revisions. These amendments become effective on April 1, 2009. A summary of the approved amendments and a copy of the amendment schedule itself are available below.

The intentions paper for the second stage of amendments was posted on the web in April 2008. The paper presents proposed policy changes to increase the accountability of generators, carriers and receivers of hazardous waste and to promote greater reliance on qualified professionals. In addition, the proposed changes are intended to improve the structure and organization of the regulation to allow for easier understanding. The details of the proposed regulatory changes are outlined in the intentions paper. Comments were solicited for a period of 45 days, ending June 5, 2008. For your information, the intentions paper for the second stage of amendments is available below.

Comments on the proposed changes to the Hazardous Waste Regulation have been summarized in a Consultation Summary Report. The comments highlight several areas of concern and have guided further work on the regulation.

Background Information

In January 2008, the ministry posted a Policy Intentions Paper for Consultation (PDF/51 KB) to provide information about the first stage proposed amendments to the Hazardous Waste Regulation.

Comments were solicited for a period of 30 days and a Summary of Public Comment Report was provided
(PDF/82 KB).

The ministry would like to thank all those who contributed. The information was invaluable with respect to developing the amended regulation.


UPDATED FEBRUARY 2009