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Environment

Waste shipments

EU rules on transporting waste within and beyond EU borders, to protect the environment and public health.

Overview

Economic growth and globalisation have led to a worldwide increase of waste transport across borders, by road, rail and boat.

The EU has a system to supervise and control shipments of waste within its borders, and with countries that have signed the Basel Convention. The EU has also introduced rules on the export, import and intra-EU shipment of plastic waste. 

The Commission has adopted a proposal for a new Regulation on waste shipments. On 16 November 2023, a political agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the future new Regulation on waste shipments. Please find the press release here.

A call for tender was published on 11 January 2024 for a framework contract for supporting the Commission in the implementation of the new waste shipment regulation.

The information on this call for tender can be found here

Background

Waste contains valuable secondary raw materials. Trading waste can have a positive impact on the economy, but the uncontrolled movement of toxic waste can have disastrous environmental consequences. Toxic waste from Europe has also been exported and dumped in developing countries on several occasions. 

EU law on the shipment of waste includes rules for transporting waste across borders. It implements the obligations of the Basel Convention (1989) on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. It also further transposes the provisions of the OECD decision (2001) establishing a control system for waste shipments for recovery within the OECD area.

Under EU waste shipment law, shipments of hazardous waste and waste destined for disposal are prohibited to non-OECD countries outside the EU. For shipments to OECD countries, they are generally subject to the prior notification and consent procedure which requires the prior written consent of all relevant authorities of dispatch, transit and destination. To speed up the procedure, Member States can designate 'pre-consented recovery facilities' (see OECD list) for which more lenient procedures apply and for which they will normally not raise objections as competent authority of destination.

Shipments of “green-listed” non-hazardous wastes within the EU and OECD do not usually require the prior consent of the authorities, but information requirements apply.

Waste shipment controls are carried out by national competent authorities and inspection services, and custom offices.

Objectives

The main aims of EU rules on waste shipments are environmental protection, and to reduce the risks to human health.

Furthermore, they aim to establish greater legal clarity and pursue harmonisation in the area of transboundary shipments of waste.

Law

The Commission has also published frequently asked questions about the Waste Shipments Regulation.

International Law 

Review of the Waste Shipment Regulation

On 17 November 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new Regulation on waste shipments. On 16 November 2023, a political agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the future new Regulation on waste shipments. Please find the press release here.

The new Regulation aims to ensure that the EU does not export its waste challenges to third countries and support a clean and circular economy. The Regulation will start to apply within 2 years after entry into force and will include:

  • new rules for EU waste exports
  • modernized rules for the shipment of waste between Member States, including digital procedures
  • new measures to better tackle illegal waste shipments

The Council has published the provisional version of the text agreed by co-legislators: Waste shipments: Council and Parliament reach agreement on more efficient and updated rules - Consilium (europa.eu). Please note that this is not yet the official text, which will be published in the Official Journal in 2024, after the completion of the final steps of legislative procedure.

Implementation

Every 3 years, the Commission must report on the implementation of the waste shipment regulation

The following information has been provided by Member States on national practices.

17 DECEMBER 2020
Method of calculation for the financial guarantee and equivalent insurance
English
(619.3 KB - PDF)
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17 DECEMBER 2020
Languages accepted by competent authorities for documents related to the procedure of prior written notification and consent
English
(66.5 KB - PDF)
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17 DECEMBER 2020
Correspondent's information document on transit
English
(538.36 KB - PDF)
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17 DECEMBER 2020
Threshold values for contaminants in green-listed wastes
English
(983.96 KB - PDF)
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30 JUNE 2023
Acceptance of waste carrier registrations in waste shipments among EU Member States (and EEA countries)
English
(36.74 KB - XLSX)
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Waste shipment correspondents 

The Waste Shipment Regulation requires EU Member States and the Commission to nominate correspondents who disseminate advice and information. 

Minutes of their meetings are publicly available

25 JULY 2023
List of waste shipment correspondents
English
(726.27 KB - PDF)
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17 DECEMBER 2020
Rules of procedure - correspondent meetings
English
(26.48 KB - PDF)
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Guidelines 

These Correspondents' Guidelines have been agreed by the waste shipment correspondents of EU Member States. They represent their common understanding of how the Waste Shipments Regulation should be interpreted but they are not legally binding.

Read all correspondent guidelines. 

Several Member States have published guidance documents for the implementation of the Waste Shipment Regulation:

The transfrontier shipment of waste is a key focus of IMPEL, the EU network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law. See IMPEL’s guidance on waste shipment inspection planning.

Covid-19 

The following documents contain key information related to waste shipments and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Shipments of waste in the EU in the context of the coronavirus crisis - Available in several EU languages

17 DECEMBER 2020
COVID19 - waste shipments – specific information from competent authorities in Member States
English
(201.91 KB - PDF)
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17 DECEMBER 2020
COVID19 - Specific contact details of waste shipment competent authorities in Member States
English
(201.91 KB - PDF)
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Brexit

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the Commission has published a Brexit Readiness Notice for Waste Shipments

Statistics

For the latest statistics on waste shipments, visit Eurostat.

Timeline

Key dates related to the Waste Shipments Regulation

  1. 17 November 2021
    Commission adopts proposal for a new Regulation on waste shipments
  2. 20 October 2021
    Regulation (EU) 2021/1840 is adopted, updating Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 on the export of green-listed waste to non-OECD countries
  3. 01 January 2021
    EU rules on plastic waste shipments enter into force
  4. 11 March 2020
    Inception Impact Assessment on the evaluation of the Waste Shipment Regulation published
  5. 31 January 2020
    Commission Staff Working Document on the evaluation of Waste Shipment Regulation published
  6. 14 June 2006
    Waste Shipments Regulation enters into force

Publications

Related links

Main law: Waste Shipments Regulation

Entry into force: 14 June 2006

Related topics: Circular economyPlastic waste shipmentsTrade and waste shipmentWaste and recycling

Related strategies: Circular economy action plan

Related Commission priorities: European Green Deal

Contact

For questions about EU environmental policy, please contact Europe Direct.

 

25 JULY 2023
List of waste shipment correspondents
English
(726.27 KB - PDF)
Download
8 JANUARY 2024
List of competent authorities
English
(1.31 MB - PDF)
Download
17 DECEMBER 2020
List of custom offices
English
(859.53 KB - PDF)
Download

 

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