Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

ABN – Australian business number issued by the Australian Tax Office

ANZSIC code – Australian New Zealand Standard industrial classification codes. See also waste.

Approved tracking system – an electronic waste tracking system, other than the EPA's online waste tracking system, that has been approved by the EPA for use in tracking waste movements.

B

Batch-copy multiple CAs – in online waste tracking, a receiving facility can 'renew' multiple consignment authorisations (CAs) so that the new CA automatically follows on from the expired CA, for the same period of time. Only CAs within one month of expiry can be batch-copied. This function is particularly useful where a number of CAs expire on the same date (eg at the end of the year). See also copy data from existing CA.

C

CA – see consignment authorisation

CA number – see consignment authorisation number

Code (waste) – see waste code. See also waste.

Consignment authorisation (CA) – an approval given by a receiving facility or the EPA to producers or those acting on their behalf to transport a specific type of waste for a period of up to 1 year. In online waste tracking, other information, such as dangerous goods data, can be recorded on the CA so that it is automatically recorded on each TC created for waste transported under the CA. 

Consignment authorisation number – a sequential number generated by the online waste tracking system. A CA must be numbered to be valid.

Consignor – the sender of the waste to a receiving facility. The consignor can be the producer of the waste or someone who is acting on the behalf of the producer. 

Contaminants (waste) – contaminants other than those identified by the waste code and waste description. See also waste.

Controlled waste – waste which, under the controlled waste NEPM, must be tracked if transported across a state or territory border.

Controlled waste NEPM – the National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Wastes between States and Territories) Measure, which establishes the framework for the movement of controlled wastes across state and territory borders. See list of controlled waste under NEPM.

Copy data from existing CA – in online waste tracking, a receiving facility can copy and edit an existing consignment authorisation (CA) to cover a different range of dates and save time when creating a new CA. See also batch-copy multiple CAs.

Custom list/full list – online waste tracking displays all transporters in the system. Users can create their own custom lists of transporters they use regularly to choose from and save time when creating and editing a transport certificate (TC).

Custom transporter list – see custom list/full list

D

Description (waste) – see waste description. See also waste.

Discrepancy – in online waste tracking, a receiving facility can record discrepancies between the actual consignor, transporter and/or waste details on arrival of the waste and those shown on the transport certificate. See also exception report.

Draft consignor – in online waste tracking if, when creating a CA, the receiving facility cannot find their consignor, they can either:

• enter the new consignor's details, which are then listed in the system as a draft consignor and continue to create the CA for the draft consignor, or
• contact the EPA to arrange for the new consignor to be added to the system.

Consignment authorisations with draft consignors are valid and can be used to create TCs. Once the EPA has checked the draft consignor's credentials and checked that the details are not a duplicate of an existing consignor, the consignor is confirmed and the CA and any TCs created using the CA will be automatically updated with the confirmed consignor. If the paper copy of the TC which accompanies the waste while being transported was printed with a draft consignor, it remains valid, even if changes are made when the consignor is confirmed. See also consignor.

E

Exception reporting and monitoring – waste tracking requires the reporting of certain irregularities in waste movements. Online waste tracking enables exception reports for many of these irregularities to be submitted automatically, for example:

• the amount of waste delivered to a receiving facility differs by more than the allowable tolerance from that recorded when the waste was picked up
• a paper TC does not accompany the waste
• waste is transported without a CA
• waste is rejected by the waste facility.

See Help – discrepancies and exceptions. Users can monitor the status of exception reports.

F

Facility – see receiving facility

Form (waste) – the form is the physical state of the waste to be transported, eg solid, liquid. The online waste tracking system provides a drop-down list of waste forms:

• compressed gas
• liquid
• solid
• sludge
• solid and liquid – use only for waste movements involving small quantities of various wastes (some solid, some liquid), typically arising from laboratory clean-outs and household chemical collections.

See also waste.

Full list – see custom list/full list

L

Licence - environment protection authorisation issued by the EPA under the Environment Protection Act 1993.

Lists -

• Transporters
    
  Custom/full list – online waste tracking displays all transporters in the system. Under Tools, users can create their own custom lists of transporters they use regularly and choose from this list, rather than the full list of transporters, and save time when creating and editing a transport certificate (TC).

M

Multiple loads – a consignment authorisation (CA) can be issued either for one waste movement only (single load) or for multiple waste movements within a specified time period not exceeding one year (multiple loads). See also waste.

N

NEPM – see controlled waste NEPM

New consignor – see draft consignor

Note – online waste tracking provides a Note area on consignment authorisations and transport certificates for users to add additional information for transport drivers or others involved in the movement of the waste load to ensure that operations go smoothly.

P

 Paper TC – see transport certificate

Pick-up amount – in online waste tracking, in circumstances where it is possible to measure the amount of waste at pick-up, a CA can be annotated when it is created (by checking the 'yes' option for 'waste amount picked up must be recorded') so that waste amount at pick-up is required to be recorded. Amounts that differ between pick-up and arrival generate an automatic exception report.

Premises – includes:

• a building or structure, or
• land or a place (whether enclosed or built on or not).

In online waste tracking, the receiving facility and producer premises are automatically copied from the consignment authorisation to the transport certificate, except when the consignor is acting on behalf of a producer, in which case the CA is created with one of the 'various' options for the consignor from which waste will be picked up from.

Producer – see role

Proposed delivery period – the number of days from when waste is picked up from the producer's premises to when it is expected to arrive at the receiving facility. Online waste tracking enables the proposed delivery period to be specified on the CA and the TC. The default is 2 days (eg waste transported by truck within SA or from neighbouring states). If the delivery period will be longer (eg waste transported by ship from Tasmania), the proposed delivery period can be adjusted accordingly on the CA. If, for some reason (eg Christmas or Easter), a particular waste movement will take longer than usual, the proposed delivery period can be changed on the TC. If waste does not arrive within the proposed delivery period the consignor, transporter or receiving facility should contact the EPA if the waste has not arrived within three days of the proposed delivery period.

Proposed treatment – the type of treatment proposed for the waste (includes storage if the receiving facility is a transfer station). See also waste.

R

Receiving facility – see role

Rejected waste – waste that a receiving facility has refused to accept, eg because the waste has been incorrectly classified and the receiving facility is not licensed to accept the waste

Role – a user can have one or more roles in the online waste tracking system: producer, transporter, receiving facility:

• Consignor (Producer) – a business that creates and wishes to dispose of waste. A producer may choose someone to arrange the movement of waste on its behalf. A user may be a consignor and also a transporter or a receiving facility, eg where waste is produced at one company address and received at another.

• Transporter – an EPA authorised (licensed) business that carries the waste from the producer to the receiving facility. If a load of waste is transferred from one transporter to another while in transit, this should be recorded at the time of transfer of the waste. The TC should be transferred to the new transporter with the waste. The receiving facility must record the transfer as a discrepancy when recording the arrival of the waste. If the transfer was planned, this can be recorded on the discrepancy.

• Receiving facility – an EPA authorised (licensed) business that receives and processes (or stores) waste.

Each role may have view-only or view and create/update privileges, eg users may view all consignment authorisations (CAs), transport certificates (TCs) and reports in which they have a role. View-only users cannot create or edit records in online waste tracking.

See table of user roles and privileges.

S

Status – the current state of the consignment authorisation (CA) or transport certificate (TC)

• CA status
• Not started – the CA has been created in the system but the CA start date has not been reached. The CA can be used to create TCs.
• Current – the current date is between the start and end dates for the CA. The CA can be used to create TCs and copied to create a new CA. The CA can also be 'renewed' as part of a batch copy if it is within one month of its end date.
• Expired – the CA end date has passed. The CA cannot be used to create TCs.
• Terminated – the CA has been terminated by the receiving facility or the EPA prior to its end date. It cannot be used to create TCs.

Note that if CA used to create a TC subsequently expires or is terminated after the waste is picked up but before the waste has been processed, the TC can still be used to record the waste movement.

• TC status
• Created – the TC has been created in the system but the waste has not been picked up.
• Picked up – the waste has been picked up from the producer, but not yet arrived at the receiving facility.
• Arrived – the waste has arrived at the receiving facility but not yet been accepted.
• Accepted – the waste has arrived at the receiving facility, been examined or tested to the facility's own requirements and accepted for processing. Any further movement of the waste requires a new TC.
• Processed – the waste has been processed or treated to the facility's own requirements (or is in storage if the facility is a transfer station) and is no longer being tracked.
• Rejected – the waste has arrived at the receiving facility but the facility has decided not to accept it, eg because it has been incorrectly categorised.
• Rejected waste delivered – the consignor or another receiving facility has accepted the rejected waste. Any further movement of the waste requires a new TC.
• Terminated – only a TC with the status of created can be terminated: a TC cannot be terminated once waste pick-up has been recorded on it. Where a TC is created but was not used, the EPA can terminate it to prevent a build-up of unwanted TCs in the system. The EPA will terminate any unused TCs once the CA has expired or been terminated.
• Uploaded – TC data loaded into the online waste tracking system by businesses using other approved tracking systems. These TCs cannot be further processed in the online system.

• Exception monitoring
• Open – the exception is under review by the EPA.
• Closed – the EPA review of the exception has been completed and any appropriate action taken.

T

TC – see transport certificate

TC number – see transport certificate number

TC w/o CA – transport certificate (TC) created in online waste tracking for waste transported to a receiving facility without a consignment authorisation (CA). The movement is an exception in the waste tracking process and automatically generates an exception report.

Trading name – the business name of the consignor, transporter or receiving facility

Transport – each consignment authorisation specifies:

• type of transport, ie road, rail, air or sea. This information appears on each transport certificate created under that consignment authorisation.
• proposed delivery period – incidences of transported waste not arriving within the expected delivery period are monitored by the EPA.
• whether the amount of waste picked up is to be recorded – If 'yes' this amount must be entered by the person recording waste pick-up in online waste tracking. See pick-up amount.

Transport certificate (TC) – the document used to record a waste movement. In the online waste tracking system, a TC is created from a consignment authorisation (CA) because much of the information on a TC is recorded on the CA. Using the CA to create the TC enables this data to be entered automatically onto the TC.

It is a requirement that a paper TC accompanies all waste movements that must be tracked. There is no reason for a paper TC not to accompany waste during transport. See What do I do if waste arrives without a paper TC?

Transport certificate number (TC number) – a sequential number generated by the online tracking system. A TC must be numbered to be valid.

Transporter – see role

Transporter list – see custom list/full list

U

User – see role

User ID – see obtaining/changing your username and password and user roles and privileges

W

Waste – the specific type of material being transported under the consignment authorisation, characterised by:

• Waste code
• Description
• Multiple loads
• Form
• Proposed treatment
• Contaminants

This information appears on each transport certificate created under that consignment authorisation.

See also controlled waste.

Waste amount picked up must be recorded – see pick-up amount

Waste code – a code assigned to waste, which depends on its composition (eg D220 for lead scrap) or its origin (eg F100 for printing waste). See controlled waste under the NEPM and list of controlled waste under NEPM. See also waste.

Waste description – a description of the waste under each waste code (eg D220: lead and lead compounds). Online waste tracking provides a drop-down list of waste descriptions and a list of common wastes for each waste code – description (eg lead acid batteries and lead scrap under D220: lead and lead compounds) as well as a general category for less common wastes. See also waste.