Laws and Regulations

To reduce personal and environmental risks and enforce proper practices, the federal, provincial, municipal and regional governments have established a variety of laws (acts, regulations and bylaws) respecting how wastes should be managed.

Failure to meet these legal requirements can have significant impacts not only on the environment, but also on a business’ reputation and finances through fines and cleanup costs.

Proper characterization of wastes and manifesting the wastes when they are moved off site are the prime responsibility of the waste generator, although the carrier and the receiver also have designated responsibilities and the associated liability.

Penalties

The penalties for non-compliance with the Hazardous Waste Regulation are listed in Part 10, Division 1 of the BC Environmental Management Act.

Anyone who commits a violation can be charged - from the president of a company, right down to a person working on the shop floor. If found guilty, they could be fined and/or imprisoned! A fine of up to $200,000 can be imposed for making untrue or misleading statements on a Waste Manifest.

Reckless disregard for safety violations causing a risk of harm or death to other persons can result in fines of up to $3,000,000 and/or 3 years imprisonment.

Due Diligence

Due Diligence is a term that describes an approach for responsible business behavior for individuals and companies to maintain a reasonable standard of care in the conduct of their activities. It requires that these individuals and companies exercise sound judgment, behave responsibly and follow all applicable laws and best practices in managing their wastes.

Practicing due diligence helps generators, transporters and waste management facilities to comply with regulations and avoid fines. It also demonstrates their commitment to environmental protection and public safety to their staff, customers and community.

Even when a waste is turned over to a transporter for the next stages in the waste management process, the original generator of the waste may be held responsible for the consequences of a spill or improper disposal of such waste.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that the carrier used to transport the waste as well as the receiver who will manage, recycle or dispose of the waste can demonstrate that they are properly authorized (licensed, have properly trained staff, and will deal with the waste safely, responsibly and in compliance with the applicable laws).

When wastes are shipped off site, the generator must initiate a Waste Manifest (a shipping document) and must receive a completed copy of the manifest from the processor. This confirms the wastes have been received and how it is intended that they be managed.

The correctly completed manifest should also confirm that the generator has complied with all requirements of the legislation. The generator and receiver must provide copies of the Manifest to the Ministry of Environment.
For some guidelines on selecting either a transporter or a receiver / processor, see fact sheets: Selecting a Hazardous Waste Transporter or Selecting a Hazardous Waste Receiver/Processor