Hazardous Waste Management

Rules and Regulations

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) has responsibility for regulating the transportation, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes and for hazardous waste management facilities that handle/dispose of hazardous and industrial waste.

ESRD has a comprehensive waste management framework that includes legislation, policies, programs, guidance documents, and waste tracking. The Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) establishes a broad framework to manage waste including hazardous waste and hazardous recyclables through the Waste Control Regulation, a transportation tracking system, and an approval process for storage, treatment and disposal facilities.

Waste Control Regulation

During the public consultation process used to develop the Waste Control Regulation, it became obvious that the regulated community would rather face a stringent regulation than a "fuzzy" one. We want everyone to know exactly what the rules are.

This guide attempts to minimize the need for costly, analytical tests in waste classification. Extensive lists of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes are provided, in order to eliminate the need for laboratory analysis of these wastes. Also, generators are encouraged to use any available knowledge of their waste to reduce the amount of analysis required in classification. This Guide holds generators responsible for classifying their own waste and for determining if the waste is prohibited from landfilling.

• Part 1: Waste Classification and Test Methods (78 pages)
• Part 2: Transporting Hazardous Waste (34 pages)
• Part 3: Approvals for Waste Management Facilities includes a Section-by-Section Guide to the regulation and answers to the most commonly asked questions (43 pages)
• Part 4: Schedule to the Alberta User Guide for Waste Managers (18 pages)
• Part 4a: Table 4a: Discarded Commercial Chemicals (305 pages)
• Part 4b: Table 4b: Discarded Commercial Chemicals (9 pages)