Canadian waste codes Choose a province or territory to find the waste identifiers used there.

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Based on official federal and Ontario sources
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Pick a waste or type one, and the codes for it show here, province by province.

Which code belongs in which field?

A provincial category identifies a waste stream; a hazard letter or test identifies its hazardous properties. A TDG UN number identifies dangerous goods for transport. Federal notification fields describe regulated cross-border movements.

When material is hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material under SOR/2021-25, an international import, export or transit needs notification and a permit before shipping, plus a movement document for each shipment. The applicant records the notification classification in CNMTS. An interprovincial movement needs the federal movement document but not an international permit.

Find the province or territory

Place	Waste identification
Ontario	Ontario subject waste uses a three-digit class plus a letter, such as 252H or 252L.
Alberta	Alberta industrial and upstream oilfield wastes use different identification routes.
British Columbia	B.C. uses TDG descriptions, Schedule 7 Types or statutory hazardous-waste names.
Quebec	Quebec MDR categories apply only after checking the definition and exclusions.
Manitoba	Manitoba uses UN or MHW/EHS/L codes; three-digit waste classes are a separate field.
Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan combines TDG waste descriptions with provincial movement identities.
New Brunswick	New Brunswick uses shipment classifications and the receiver’s approved waste route.
Nova Scotia	Nova Scotia uses waste-dangerous-goods rules and separate material regimes.
Prince Edward Island	P.E.I. hazardous shipments at 5 kg or 5 L require a provincial manifest.
Newfoundland and Labrador	Newfoundland and Labrador uses registered generators and licensed transporters.
Yukon	Yukon special-waste permits and manifests depend on quantity and collection route.
Northwest Territories	NWT waste rules include material-specific quantity and alternative disposal routes.
Nunavut	Nunavut uses registered parties, federal classifications and movement documents.

What facts identify the waste?

Record the generating process, ingredients, physical state and intended destination. For spent materials, use the waste composition after use, including contamination, rather than relying only on the unused product’s safety data sheet.

When is a federal cross-border shipment excluded or below the paperwork threshold?

Place

Exclusions, thresholds and applicable routes

Federal movements

Federal: SOR/2021-25 applies to regulated hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material crossing a provincial or international border. Part 2 requires a movement document for interprovincial shipments; Part A must reach the origin and destination authorities within three working days of shipment. Federal notification codes are not all required fields on an intraprovincial manifest. ss. 2–4, 79–80 Federal: shipments under 5 kg or 5 L are excluded, except waste containing mercury or Class 6.2 infectious substances. Residues in containers emptied as far as feasible before refilling or cleaning are excluded. Regular municipal collection mixed with non-hazardous waste is excluded until separated. Personal or household waste is excluded only when transported by the individual whose waste it is. Authorized normal ship discharges are excluded. These are federal exclusions, not TDG or provincial exemptions. ss. 2(2), 4(2)–(3) Federal recycling: for interprovincial movements, Schedule 9 metal-refining residues, automobile PGM catalysts, recoverable electronic parts (excluding cells and batteries) and brass turnings, borings and choppings are excluded when destined for a Schedule 1 Part 2 recycling operation. End-of-life mercury components are excluded where the mercury is 50 mL or less per shipment and destined for that recycling operation. Cells or batteries that do not meet TDG Classes 2–6, 8 or 9 are excluded when destined for that operation. The mercury and battery exclusions do not apply to disposal or international shipments. s. 4(3)(g)–(i), Schedule 9 Federal recycling test samples: 25 kg or 25 L or less for recycling analysis or research are excluded if not Class 6.2 and accompanied by the named parties and “test samples” or its prescribed French equivalent. International recycling exclusions for these samples and Schedule 9 materials additionally require the specified OECD-country and destination conditions; Schedule 9 shipments need supporting documents and an authorized destination facility. s. 4(2)(f)–(g), (3)(f)

Terms in the waste definitions

Term	Meaning
Halogenated	Organic compounds containing chlorine, fluorine, bromine or iodine.
Still bottoms	Residue left in the vessel after distillation.
Heavy ends	Higher-boiling material remaining after lighter fractions are separated.
Light ends	The lower-boiling fraction removed during distillation.
Filter cake	Solids retained by a filter.
Quenching	Rapid cooling after heat treatment.
Pickle liquor	Spent acid from removing oxide scale from metal.
Slop oil	Recovered oil, water and solids mixed together.
API separator	A refinery oil-water separator.
DAF float	The surface layer skimmed from dissolved-air flotation.
TCLP	Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure.
Varsol	A petroleum-distillate solvent trade name.
Askarel	PCB-containing fluids.
TNT	Trinitrotoluene, an explosive.
Flexzone / Monex	Trade names listed under Ontario amine waste.