On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste and amending Regulations (EU) No 1257/2013 and (EU) No 2020/1056
ENVI-PR-719861
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Pernille Weiss
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This is the rapporteur's draft report on the proposed regulation on shipments of waste, which would replace Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and amend Regulations (EU) No 1257/2013 and (EU) No 2020/1056.¶¶ The draft proposes 106 amendments to the Commission proposal, covering research and innovation, legal certainty, electronic data exchange, waste classification, notification procedures, take-back obligations, export rules and enforcement.¶¶¶ It would create a waste shipment cooperation group of Member State representatives and the Commission to resolve classification disagreements and monitor the internal market, and strengthen the waste shipment enforcement group.¶¶¶ It would allow multilateral agreements between Member States for shipments of waste for disposal under conditions, and require the Commission to update the list of countries authorised to receive EU waste exports at least every year.¶¶¶ It would extend the validity of written consent to two years and of pre-consent to five years, and change many procedural deadlines from days to working days.¶¶¶
Committee position. The rapporteur welcomes the Commission proposal as an ambitious and balanced starting point, and proposes 106 amendments to strengthen it, including on research and innovation, legal certainty, digitalisation, a waste shipment cooperation group, multilateral agreements for disposal, and yearly updates of the list of authorised export countries.¶¶¶
Key points
- Adds recitals stating that research and innovation should be part of the waste management sector, and that legal certainty and uniform application should avoid administrative burdens, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.¶¶
- Amends recitals on electronic data exchange to require the central and national systems to be interlinked and fully operational, allow document sharing and contain a searchable database, with alternative procedures in case of cyberattacks or breakdowns.¶¶
- Amends the prohibition on mixing waste to allow non-hazardous waste to be mixed if the receiving facility can treat waste of the corresponding contamination level.¶¶
- Requires notifiers to provide documents in the official language of the competent authority concerned or in English, with translation only in duly justified cases.¶¶¶
- Establishes a waste shipment cooperation group of Member State representatives chaired by the Commission to share information, resolve classification disagreements and monitor the internal market.¶¶
- Requires competent authorities to increase screening of similar shipments after an illegal shipment is discovered, and requires the enforcement group to publish an annual report and propose an action plan to tackle illegal shipments.¶¶¶
- Exempts cross-border shipments of waste below 20 kg from consumers to companies, and raises the limit for experimental shipments from 150 kg to 2 000 kg or a higher amount agreed case-by-case.¶¶
- Allows operators of experimental treatment trials or laboratories to submit notifications, and allows dealers or brokers with written authorisation to sign the notification document.¶¶
- Extends the validity of written consent to two calendar years, and of pre-consent for recovery facilities to seven years, valid in all Member States unless revoked.¶¶
- Changes many procedural deadlines from days to working days, including for providing information, taking decisions, and certifying receipt and completion of recovery or disposal.¶¶¶
- Allows Member States to conclude multilateral agreements for shipments of waste for disposal under conditions, and requires the waste shipment cooperation group to verify such agreements do not cause harmful fragmentation.¶¶¶
- Requires the Commission to update the list of countries authorised to receive EU waste exports at least every year, and to establish guidelines for monitoring exports and a central register of audited facilities and international agreements.¶¶¶
Who is affected
- Economic operators shipping waste, who would face changed notification, consent and documentation rules.¶¶¶
- Small and medium-sized enterprises, for which administrative burdens should be avoided.¶
- Member State competent authorities, which would apply new deadlines, classification rules and cooperation group duties.¶¶¶
- Recovery and disposal facilities, which would need pre-consent valid across Member States and provide certification within new deadlines.¶¶¶
- Third countries receiving EU waste exports, which would be subject to monitoring and a list of authorised countries updated yearly.¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- 20 kg, the threshold below which cross-border shipments of waste from consumers to companies would be exempt.¶
- 2 000 kg, the new limit for experimental shipments, or a higher amount agreed case-by-case.¶
- Two calendar years, the new validity period for written consent to a planned shipment.¶
- Seven years, the validity period for pre-consent of a recovery facility.¶
- Five years, the extended validity of consent for shipments to a pre-consented facility under a general notification.¶
- 30%, the increase over three months compared to the previous three-month period that triggers a Commission request for information from a destination country.¶
- 60 working days, the deadline for a third country to provide information on waste recovery conditions under Article 42(2).
- Two years, the deadline for the enforcement group to propose an action plan to tackle illegal shipments.¶
Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.¶