Tracking and transporting hazardous waste

Tracking the transport and disposal of high-risk or hazardous waste minimises potential harm to the environment and human health. Waste tracking helps stamp out illegal dumping, prevents waste going to the wrong facility and stops unfair competition.

Under Part 4 of the Protection of theEnvironment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014 (Waste Regulation), the transport and disposal of hazardous waste listed in Schedule 1 must be tracked when it is transported into, within or out of NSW. Waste tracking involves

  • obtaining approval from the EPA for the hazardous waste to be transported
  • completing required documentation
  • ensuring all parties are authorised to transport and receive the waste

The waste producer, their authorised agent if appropriate, transporter and receiving facility manager are all responsible for ensuring that the waste is properly tracked. The waste tracking requirements are the same for businesses that hold and do not hold an environment protection licence.

Note that a waste producer and an authorised agent are collectively known as a ‘waste consignor’.

  1. Know what your responsibilities are

    2. Find out what your responsibilities are, and what you must do to comply with the Waste Regulation when dealing with trackable waste, as

  2. Characterise the waste

    3. The waste consignor characterises the waste to determine its waste code and description. This information is needed in waste tracking documents.

  3. Find out if the waste needs to be tracked

    4. The waste consignor determines whether the waste to be transported needs to be tracked. There are exemptions for some waste types.

  4. Apply for access to the EPA's online waste tracking system

    5. As the online waste tracking system enables all parties to track their waste easily and quickly, it is recommended that you use it. However, it is not compulsory.

  5. Obtain a consignment authorisation

    6. A consignment authorisation (CA) is the approval given by a receiving facility or NSW EPA to a waste consignor to transport a specific type of waste for up to one year.

    • CAs contain the waste form and waste code from the characterisation of the waste (see step 2).
    • It is a legal requirement for a CA to be issued before waste which must be tracked can be transported.
    • CAs for waste being transported from NSW to another state or territory must be obtained from the environment agency in that state or territory.
  6. Create a transport certificate

    7. Create or edit a CA online
    A transport certificate (TC)

    • contains required information about a load of waste, including all the details from the waste characterisation
    • records details of the transport and disposal of a load of waste
    • is generated from the CA

    Create a TC online.

  7. Complete the transport certificate

    8. Once a TC has been created, it must be printed and accompany the waste load during transport. Information to be recorded on the TC includes

    • the date the waste was picked up from the consignor’s premises
    • the load’s intended delivery date at a receiving facility
    • the date of the receiving facility’s acceptance or rejection of the waste; if the facility rejects the waste, it is either sent back to the consignor or sent to a facility that can lawfully accept it
    • the date the waste has been disposed of, treated or temporarily stored
    • the date rejected waste arrived back at the consignor’s premises or at a facility that can lawfully accept it
    • any discrepancies, such as the waste being wrongly characterised on the TC or the transporter being different from the one nominated on the CA or TC.

    Complete or update a TC online

  8. Report any waste tracking discrepancies to the EPA

    9. A discrepancy occurs if the information on the TC does not accurately reflect the transport and disposal of waste which has occurred. If using online waste tracking, the discrepancy is automatically recorded and there is no need to report it to the EPA.

    If not using the online waste tracking system, report a discrepancy to the EPA by emailing hazardous.materials@epa.nsw.gov.au.

When the receiving facility has access to the online waste tracking system, waste producers and transporters who do not have internet access can still have their waste tracked online. The receiving facility can generate the printed TC.

When the waste is picked up, the details can be recorded by hand on the TC and entered into the online system by the receiving facility when the waste arrives at the facility.

If online waste tracking is not available when a CA or TC needs to be created or updated, the actions taken can be recorded on paper and entered into the system later.

Find out more about hazardous waste tracking.

All waste generated in the Metropolitan Levy Area (MLA) must be tracked when it is transported out of NSW.

Under Parts 6 and 7 of the Waste Regulation, there are special requirements for tracking the transport and disposal of waste tyres and asbestos waste within NSW.

Under Parts 1 and 3 of Schedule 1 of the Waste Regulation, certain liquid wastes need to be tracked.

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