Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Materials - Return of Shipments Due to Contamination

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/02/2022 - 07:54

Return of Shipments Due to Contamination

You may need to reduce contamination of your shipments in order to comply with the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (XBR) and to avoid the return of shipments.

Sources of contamination or reasons for returning shipments can include:

  • Mixed and unsorted waste;
  • Presence of non-declared materials;
  • High organic material content;
  • Presence of household waste, for example municipal waste from sorting facilities;
  • Shipment containing banned material in the destination country.

How can you prevent the return of a shipment due to contamination?

  • Ensure your sorting process is minimizing contamination;
  • Ensure your export meets all state of import and transit requirements;
  • Stay aware of evolving controls around the world to comply with permit and other requirements applicable to exports.

Regulatory reminder: The Regulations apply if the importing or a transit country has:

  • import or transit controls on specific waste (i.e. sorting requirements, quality specifications, or others);
  • contamination specifications to be met;
  • banned certain waste from its list of imports.

Reminder: Use of the Canadian Notice and Movement Tracking System (CNMTS) is mandatory

It is mandatory to use the CNMTS to create your movement documents since the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (XBR) came into effect on October 31, 2021.

When creating your movement document for any international movement, you must ensure that you submit the document to the Minister within the regulatory timeframe. The submission must be done electronically in the CNMTS, simply printing the document does not meet the regulatory requirements. No submissions outside of the CNMTS will be accepted. Please refer to the CNMTS User Guide to learn how to use the system.

It is also mandatory to use the CNMTS to create and submit your confirmation of disposal or recycling. A separate confirmation is required for any operation listed on the permit that involves a hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material, including interim operations. Therefore, in some cases, multiple confirmations are required for a single waste line.

Record keeping

Every permit holder must retain a copy of movement documents for a period of five years after the latest expiry date of any permit related to the movement. This includes all contracts that relate to the movement and disposal of hazardous waste or the recycling of hazardous recyclable materials, and any documentation necessary to demonstrate that the permit holder and the authorized carriers have the required liability insurance policy. You must make these movement documents and other records available upon request by an Environment and Climate Change Canada Enforcement officer.

Share your thoughts:

We would like to hear from you. If you have a success story to share, feedback on your experience with the Canadian notice and movement tracking system (CNMTS), or are looking for general information on the federal hazardous wastes regulations, contact your regional office:

For more information, visit: www.canada.ca/hazardous-waste