Environmental & Risk Management / Waste Management / Track

Define Waste Manifest

If your waste is classified as hazardous, or if its transportation is subject to regulations, you typically will need to track it with a manifest. As the waste is transferred from the generator, to the transporter, to the waste processing facility, it is accompanied by its manifest and different parties involved in the transfer and acceptance of the waste sign the hard-copy manifest to accept legal responsibility for the hazardous waste.

Although a waste manifest is typically required for transporting hazardous waste, you may wish to complete a manifest for non-hazardous waste as well. The waste manifest provides valuable information about the transfer of waste between various parties.

As a waste generator, you will initiate the waste manifest and provide basic information about the waste being shipped. As the waste is transported and delivered to the waste processing facility, you will find that the transporter and waste processing facility will provide the values for other fields listed on the waste manifest.

After you have defined waste manifests, you can review alerts for waste manifests that warn of manifests with missed or approaching deadlines by which they need to be signed and returned to you. See Track Waste Manifests.

The following is the typical process for using a manifest to document the transfer of waste.

Step 1: The Waste Generator Defines a Waste Manifest

As a facility manager at a waste generator, you typically define a manifest for hazardous and non-hazardous waste that will be transported off-site for processing. Once the manifest is defined, you can add multiple instances of waste to it, as long as the waste all derives from the same generator.

You can also define a manifest from the Track Waste Shipments task.

Note: The Define Waste Manifest view offers many fields whose values are supplied by the transporter or the waste processing facility. When initially defining your manifest, you should leave these fields blank and focus on the fields listed below.

To get started with a waste manifest, complete the following fields as needed:

Manifest Number	This value uniquely identifies this specific manifest. This number is pre-printed on each manifest form to enable the storage and retrieval of the data entered on the manifest. Check with your regulatory agencies to ensure that you create the Manifest Number in accordance with their requirements. For example, in the USA the EPA requires that the manifest tracking number include a three-letter suffix following nine digits. The three-letter suffix is unique to each printer, and is assigned by the EPA based on the printer's application to become a registered printer of manifests.
Manifest Reference Number	Use this field to refer to another manifest that is related to this manifest. For example, suppose the waste processing facility rejects some of the waste in a shipment and returns it to the generator with a new manifest explaining the rejection. The waste generator could reference the second manifest number in this field.
Generator Code	Enter the generator who originated the waste instances that will be tracked with this manifest. Note that waste instances assigned to this waste manifest must all originate from the generator that you set with this field. For more information, see Completing the Waste Generator Field for a Manifest
Waste Facility Code	Enter the facility that will be taking charge of the waste, once it is delivered by the transporter. Choose a value from the list of existing waste facilities. Once you choose a value, the system completes the descriptive Waste Facility Name and Waste Facility Vendor Code fields with information about the waste processing facility.
Date Shipped	Enter the date on which this instance of waste leaves your facility and is handed over to the party responsible for transporting it. The Date Shipped is important as it is used to determine when to alert you that the manifest has not been returned from the waste processing facility.
Date Country Departure	If the waste is being shipped outside of the country in which it was generated, you can enter the date on which the waste departed its original country. Many countries, including the US Department of Transportation, require documentation on waste that leaves its borders.
Waste Transporter	Enter the party that will be transporting the waste. Choose a value from the list of existing transporters. You will be limited to choosing transporters whose Status is Active.
Special Handling Instructions	Enter any special instructions about handling the waste listed on this manifest.
International Shipments	Choose N/A, Export to US, or Import to US.
Waste Facility Code Alternate	As a waste generator, you can designate one alternate facility that is permitted to handle waste in the event that an emergency prevents delivery of the waste to the primary designated facility.

Step 2: The Waste Generator Associates New Wastes and Stored Wastes with a Manifest

Once you define the basic properties of the waste manifest, you can add stored wastes to it, as well as generate new waste records and assign them to the waste manifest. When associating wastes with a waste manifest, follow these guidelines:

Manifests are typically required for transporting hazardous waste, but are optional for not non-hazardous waste.
Multiple instances of waste may be assigned to the same manifest, as long as they are from the same waste generator.
The waste loaded into one truck can be covered by multiple manifests.
If a hazardous waste shipment needs to be split between two trucks, you must create two separate manifests so that each manifest documents what is in each truck.

To assign stored waste to a manifest:

If you have already entered storage information for an instance of waste, you can now add this waste to a manifest by following this procedure:

Run the Define Waste Manifest task and display the manifest to which you want to add stored waste.
Choose the Add Stored Waste(s) to Manifest button.
The system presents a list of waste records appropriate to assign to this manifest; that is, the wastes:

are stored
are not yet assigned to a manifest
are generated by the same generator as waste already assigned to this manifest, or are not yet associated with a generator. For more information, see Completing the Waste Generator Field for a Manifest or Waste.
have a Disposition Type of Shipment

Select one or more instances of stored waste to add to the manifest and choose the Add Selected Waste(s) button.
The system presents a message confirming that the waste instances were added to the manifest. If you now load the Track Waste Shipments task, you will see that the system has completed these waste records' Manifest Number field.

Note: You can also assign stored wastes to a manifest using the Track Waste Shipment task.

To create a waste instance and assign it to a manifest:

Run the Define Waste Manifest task and display the manifest to which you want to add stored waste.
Choose the Add New Waste(s) to Manifest button.
The system presents a form so that you can define your new instance of waste. For information on completing these fields, see Track Waste Shipments. When you have completed your information, choose Save.
The system will automatically complete the Generator Code information. For information, see Completing the Waste Generator Field for a Manifest or a Waste

The system returns you to the Define Waste Manifest view so that you can continue adding new or stored wastes to this manifest.
If you now load the Track Waste Shipments task, you will see that the system has created a new shipment record with the Manifest Number completed.

Note: When creating a new instance of waste with this task, you may not wish to create all of its details at this time. Instead, you may wish to quickly create the new waste instance and assign it to the manifest. You can later access this record using the Track Waste Shipments task and complete the remaining information.

Step 3: The Waste Generator Prints the Manifest and Includes it with the Shipment

The waste generator can use the Track Waste Manifest task or the Waste -Review/Waste Manifests report task to generate a PDF of selected waste manifests. You can print the PDF so that you have a hard copy of these manifests to accompany the shipment. The hard copy waste manifest accompanies the waste as it is transported to the waste processing facility.

Step 4: The Transporter Transports the Waste that is Documented by the Manifest

The transporter has responsibility to carry the waste safely and within the prescribed time frame to the intended recipient. The waste transporter who accepts the responsibility of transporting the waste to the designated waste processing facility typically provides the following information for the manifest.

The facility manager at the site generating the waste will receive this data from the transporter and enter it by using the Define Waste Manifest task to complete the following fields:

Date Country Departure	If the waste departs the country of origin, enter the date in this field.
Date Receipt Transporter	Enter the date that the transporter signed for the waste.
Signing for Transporter	The name of the transporter who signed for and delivered the waste to the waste processing facility.
Transporter 2 fields	Sometimes multiple transporters are involved in the delivery of waste. Use the Transporter 2 fields to document a situation in which the waste is transferred between transporters. The Transporter 2 fields correspond with the primary transporter fields.

Step 5: The Waste Processing Facility Accepts Legal Custody of the Waste that is Documented by the Manifest

The waste facility typically inspects the waste shipment when it arrives on site and compares it to the manifest. When the waste processing facility signs the manifest, they accept legal custody of the waste as described on the manifest so will want to ensure that the manifest is accurate.

If there are discrepancies between the manifest and the shipped waste, the waste processing facility may choose to full or partially reject the shipment of waste. See Rejecting a Waste Shipment.

The manifest contains information which will be provided by the waste processing facility, such as signature lines, fields for recording discrepancies, and fields completed by an alternative waste processing facility. Once you have received the information from the waste processing facility, you will typically store an electronic copy of any updated manifest documents into the Manifest Document field of the application, and enter the new information into the appropriate fields in the database.

You can use the Define Waste Manifest task to complete the following fields:

Signing for Waste Facility	Enter the name of the party at the waste processing facility who accepted receipt of the physical waste and signed the manifest.
Date Acceptance	Enter the date that the waste was officially accepted by the waste processing site. On this date, the generator no longer has responsibility for the waste as its legal custody is transferred to the waste processing facility. Note that the waste may arrive on site and the waste manager may inspect it and find discrepancies. The waste processing facility should not accept the waste until it has inspected the waste and has resolved any discrepancies between the waste they received and how it was documented on the manifest. See Rejecting a Waste Shipment
Waste Facility Contact Notes	Enter any notes or special circumstances surrounding the waste, as recorded by the contact at the waste processing facility.
Signed By	This is the person signing for the waste generator on the manifest.
Port of entry/exit:	Enter the location at the waste processing facility at which the waste enters the facility. For example, you might record the bay at which the delivery truck parked and from which the waste was unloaded.
Partial Rejection/ Full Rejection	If the waste processing facility finds that the waste they received does not match the waste described on the manifest, they can fully or partially reject the waste and therefore not accept legal responsibility for it at this time. Typically, they return the rejected waste to the generator. See Rejecting a Waste Shipment Partial Rejection is indicated by a Yes. Full Rejection is indicated by a Yes.
Type Discrepancy/ Quantity Discrepancy/ Residue Discrepancy/	If the waste processing facility partially or fully rejects the acceptance of the waste, you can use these fields to record the issues that they have with the waste. A Yes for any of these fields indicates that this was an issue in the rejection. See Rejecting a Waste Shipment
Waste Facility Code Alternate	The waste generator may have completed this field to designate an alternate facility that is permitted to handle waste in the event that an emergency or circumstances prevent delivery of the waste to the primary designated facility. For example, if a waste processing facility has just hit capacity for the month, they cannot accept the shipment and the shipment will be sent to the alternate waste processing facility.
Date for Alternate Waste Facility Date Shipped Alternate Signing for Waste Facility Alternate	In the event that the waste is delivered to the alternate waste facility, the accepting facility completes these fields to document their acceptance of the waste. These fields correspond to the similar fields of the primary waste processing facility. If an alternate waste processing facility is not required, do not complete these fields.

Step 6: The Waste Generator Receives the Manifest Signed by All Parties

Typically, when the waste processing facility has accepted responsibility for the waste, they sign the appropriate areas on the hard-copy waste manifest and return the completed hard-copy waste manifest to the waste generator.

When the waste generator receives the hard-copy document, they can scan the hard-copy manifest, complete with the signatures, and associate the scanned file with the manifest record. The Waste Generator would then update these fields:

Date Final Manifest Received	Enter the date on which you receive the signed manifest.
Manifest Document	Use this document field to store a scanned copy of the completed and signed manifest.

If the waste generator encounters difficulty receiving the signed manifest from the waste processing facility within the prescribed time frame, they can file an exception report and document it with these fields.

Exception Report Notes	Use the field to record notes about filing an exception report.
Date Exception Report	Use this field to enter the date on which the exception report was filed.
Date Waste Facility Contact	Record the date that you contact the waste facility about receiving the signed manifest.