What are the differences between manifests and bills of lading?

In the field of hazardous waste management, a waste manifest is a piece of paperwork required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) in order to legally transport hazardous waste materials.

A bill of lading, on the other hand, is used to transport other materials such as biomedical waste. This waste is also known as regulated waste, regulated medical waste, or even red bag waste. These documents can also be used to transport empty containers or containers or boxes of documents for destruction. Essentially, a bill of lading in this industry is simply paperwork that often accompanies waste that is not deemed hazardous.