EU-Legislation SHIPMENT
The purpose of European waste legislation is to
control the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste.
It controls all sections of the waste management industry including
storage, registration, licensing, monitoring, record keeping and
controls on specific waste streams such as municipal waste, hazardous
waste or clinical waste.
When dealing with waste management regarding the
transfrontier movement of waste the Waste Shipment Regulation is
implementing a number of international agreements and conventions
on the shipment of wastes, indluding the Basel Convention and the
OECD Decision. Furthermore the Waste Framework Directive and the
Directive on Hazardous Waste have to be taken into consideration.
All legislations can be downloaded from the following table and
are summarized below.
(Old) Directive 2006/12/EC on waste (repealed by 12.12.10)
The Waste Framework Directive:
- Sets out a system for the coordinated management of waste within
the community
- Sets out the foundation for sustainable waste management
- Defines waste and introduces the principles of the waste hierarchy,
proximity principle and self sufficiency
The Waste Framework Directive requires that Member
States:
- Ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering
human health and the environment
- Take the necessary measures to prohibit the abandonment, dumping
or uncontrolled disposal of waste
Holders of waste must:
- Ensure the disposal or recovery of their waste themselves in
accordance with the provisions of the Directive or
- Have it handled by an authorised collection-, disposal- or recovery
undertaking
Any establishment or undertaking carrying out waste
disposal or recovery operations must have a permit and be inspected
at regular intervals by the authorities. The regulation is directly
applicable in all EU Member States.
There is no transition period for the new Member
States.
(New) Directive 2008/98/EC on waste repealing certain Directives
(into force on 12.12.10)
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the new Waste Framework Directive by 12 December 2010.
The new Waste Framework Directive includes the following changes concerning the shipment of waste:
- Distinction disposal / recovery
- End of waste status
- Distinction waste / by-products
Furthermore it requests Member States to establish not later then 12 December 2013 waste prevention programmes.
Directive 91/689/EC on hazardous waste (repealed by 12.12.2010)
The Directive on hazardous waste singles out specific
waste materials as a consequence of their hazardous nature and potential
impact upon health and the environment due to:
- Describing categories or generic types of waste (Annex I) which
are classified as hazardous
- Listing constitutes of waste (Annex II) which are classified
as hazardous
- Describing properties of waste (Annex III) which are classified
as hazardous
Beside the Directive sets licensing requirements
for handling and treatment of hazardous waste.
There are no transition periods for this Directive
for the new Member States.
Development of key legislation on shipments of waste
Council Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipment of waste
The new Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments
of waste replacing and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93
applies since July 2007. It contains a number of measures intended
to strengthen enforcement, including obligations for Member States
to carry out inspections and spot checks as well as to co-operate
in order to facilitate the prevention and detection of illegal waste
shipments.
The new Regulation aims at:
- Implementation of OECD Decision C(2001) 107. This means e.g.
the combination of "red" and "amber" list into one annex
- Legal clarification of unclear aspects and answer to problems
that have arisen in the appliance, management and enforcement
of Regulation No 259/93
- As the basic system of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 have not been
changed, notable modifications in the field of notification procedure
(e.g. abolishment of "tacit consent procedure")
Important changes in comparison to Regulation (EEC) 259/93
comprise the following:
- Changes in number of waste lists and allocation of wastes
- Additional restrictions for shipments destined for disposal
- Regulation for wastes from armed forces and relief organisations
- Regulation for animal by-products
- Clearer definition of responsibility of intermediate actors
(dealers, etc)
- Clearer definitions for notifier, take-back and illegal shipments
- Additional possibilities and changes for objection
- Obligation for controls and reporting
As concerns Basic procedures for waste shipments between MS
the new Regulation foresees two different types of control procedures
depending on the treatment method intended for the waste in question.
As national management autarchy is given a especially
high priority for Mixed Municipal Waste, this waste type (although
not classified as hazardous) is subject to specific procedural requirements.
As general principles of notification procedure the following
is set in the Shipment Regulation:
Transboundary movements of Annex III wastes destined
for recovery operations ("green" wastes) within the EU are
subject to a facilitated control procedure. These wastes do not
need a notification, but have to be accompanied solely by movements
documents according to Annex VII of the Regulation. Requirements
concerning contract and documentation of paper however apply mutatis
mutandis.
As concerns transboundary waste transports to
third countries the following restrictions are set in the EU
Shipment Regulation:
In this context "hazardous waste" means all wastes
listed in Annex V Part 1, wastes listed within Annex V Part 2 and
wastes listed in Annex V Part 3.In addition export of wastes to
third countries has to be prohibited, if these wastes are subject
to import bans or classified as hazardous under the national legislations
in the country of destination or if there are reasons to belive
that the waste will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner.
Information on specific control procedures or
import bans in third countries for "green" listed waste are compiled
in
Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007.
This Regulation will be updated regularly in accordance
with incoming responses from thired countries. Asl long as responses
are missing, EU legislations foresses the obligations to notify
each export forom the EU:
Imports ofwaste from third countries into the
EU are less restricted than exports. Although in principle prohibited,
the number of exemptions comprises a majority of countries worldwide
and now also include "areas in situations of crisis, peacemaking,
peacekeeping and war".
Major provisions regarding transit of waste via the EU
Also transit of waste through the EU is generally
subject to a strict control procedure (notification). Only transit
for recovery in OECD countries are exempted of from this rules.
All shipments of waste to and from third countries
require involvement of customs offices in EU Member STates both
during the notification procedure and in the context of inspection
and control:
New Provisions for MS concerning enforcement and international
cooperation (Article 50-53)
Finally the new Shipment Regulation contains a
number of specific provisions to strengthen enforcement and control
of legal requirements and to support preventions of illegal shipments
of waste.
- Develop rules on penalties and take measures to assure implementation
- Notify EU Commission of national legislation relating to prevention
and detection of illegal shipment
- Perform inspections of establishments and undertakings and
spot checks on shipments or the related recovery/disposal (documents,
confirmation of identity, physical checking of the waste)
- Cooperate bilaterally or multilaterally to facilitate prevention
and detection of illegal shipment
- Designate one competent authority responsible for cooperation
- Report annually on state of implementation via a standard
enforcement questionnaire (Annex IX) with copy to Basel Convention
EU-Legal Cases SHIPMENT
The inconsistent interpretation of Regulation (EEC)
No 259/93 by MS authorities have lead to numerous judicial reviews,
particularly regarding the definition of waste.
Examplary cases of the jurisdication of the European Court of
Justice (ECJ):
 |
Case C-192/96 ("Beside"):
ECJ clarifies the term "municipal waste" of the amber
list of Regulation (EEC) No 259*93 |
|
Case C-6/00 ("ASA Abfall Service"):
ECJ affirms the competence of authority of dispatch to verify
whether a proposed shipment classified in the notification as
a shipment of waste for recovery does in fact correspond to
that classification |
|
Cases C-458/00 and C-228/00: ECJ claims that
there must not be additional national criteria on the energetic
quality of mixed waste without basis in Regulation 259/93 in
case shipment between Member States |
|
Case C-277/02 ("EU Wood Trading"):
ECJ clarifies the circumstances under which the authority of
dispatch can raise objections to shipments |
|
Case C-215/04 ("Marius Pedersen"):
ECJ clarifies that a person being a licensed collector does
not confer on him the status of notifier of a shipment of waste
for recovery |
Background information to the cases and additional
legal cases are available at the following web-site: http://curia.europa.eu/en/content/juris/index.htm
(Source: CURIA)
