waste manifest

Documentation prepared by waste generators who ship hazardous and non-hazardous waste for off-site treatment, recycling, or disposal. The manifest accompanies the waste during transport and receipt and contains information on the type and quantity of the waste, instructions for handling the waste, and signature lines for all transporters and facilities involved in the process.

Once the waste reaches its destination, the receiving facility completes information on the receipt of the material and returns a signed copy of the manifest to the generator, confirming that they have received the waste and that they accept legal responsibility for it. This is particularly important for the transfer of hazardous waste.

A manifest may cover multiple instances of waste and different types of waste. However, all hazardous waste assigned to one manifest must originate from the same generator and be transported by the same party.

In the United States, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require manifests for the transportation and acceptance of hazardous waste; similar documents may be required for other countries and governmental organizations. Although manifests may not be required for non-hazardous wastes, many generators include manifests with their non-hazardous waste to ensure accuracy and careful record-keeping.