EU: New waste shipment regulation

 

The EU has published a new Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste. It would replace the current Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on shipments of waste and amend the Regulations (EU) No 1257/2013 and (EU) No 2020/1056.

The draft Regulation establishes procedures and control regimes for the shipment of waste, depending on the origin, destination and route of the shipment, the type of waste shipped and the type of treatment to be applied to the waste at its destination. It provides the procedural rules for shipping waste both within, through, from and to the Union.

New approaches as compared to the current Regulation are proposed:

• the shift to the exchange of procedural information and documentation via electronic means;
• new rules that will require both economic operators and public authorities to verify that waste exported from the EU is treated in a sustainable manner in the countries of destination. Concretely, exports of EU non-hazardous waste to third non-OECD countries would only be allowed where these countries have indicated their willingness and ability to receive (certain) waste. Also, exporting companies would be obliged to ensure that the facilities in third countries where their waste is destined to, are independently audited to verify that the received waste will be managed in an environmentally sound manner. For exports to third countries that are members of the OECD, a monitoring mechanism and a safeguard measure are proposed to avoid that a surge in the export of waste from the EU creates environmental or public health problems in the countries of destination;
• stronger enforcement of waste shipment rules, including an enhanced role for the EU’s anti-fraud office (OLAF).

The proposed date of adoption of the new regulation is the 4th quarter 2023.

The draft text of the regulation is available HERE and its annexes HERE.

To find out more about the EU environmental law, do not hesitate to contact the Product Compliance Institute.