EU Proposal for a New Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR)
Governmental Agency: European Commission
Jurisdiction: European Union
Ref no: 2021/0367(COD)
Status: ADOPTED
The Waste Shipment Regulation was first adopted to 2006 to govern how waste can be transported across borders. This incorporated requirements with regard to the end-market for waste i.e. reuse, recycling, recovery or disposal. It also implemented the requirements of Basel Convention (1989) on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. It also establishing a control system for waste shipments for recovery within the OECD area.
In November 2021, the Commission published its proposal for a new Regulation on waste shipments to maximize circularity and reduce practices causing environmental or human health damage. The proposal includes plans to facilitate intra-EU waste shipments to promote circular economy, including:
- Streamlining existing procedures to facilitating waste to re-enter the circular economy, without lowering the necessary level of control.
- Increasing efficiency through the introduction of electronic documentation exchange.
It also includes provisions to tackle the export of illegal waste outside the EU, including:
- Restricting exports of waste to non-OECD countries, unless they can manage waste in an environmentally sound manner.
- Clarity on waste shipment criteria to prevent waste being falsely exported as "used goods"
- Implementation of increased oversight and enforcement.
Proposed amendments from both Parliament and the Council were taken to Trilogue negotiations. On the 17 November 2023, a provisional agreement was reached on updates to the regulation. These include:
- Expanding the objectives of the regulation to include climate neutrality and the achievement of the circular economy and zero pollution.
- Bans intra-EU shipments of all waste destined for disposal, except if consented to and authorized under strict conditions. Intra-EU shipments for recovery will continue to be allowed for green-listed waste.
- Introduces additional requirements on waste exports outside the EU member states. Only those facilities treating waste in an environmentally sound manner will be allowed to be exported to, with regular facility audits conducted.
- Introduces stricter rules and monitoring procedures around exporting plastic waste to third countries.
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All companies exporting waste from the EU would be required to conduct independent audits in the facilities where they ship waste to, in order to ensure that those facilities can manage waste in an environmentally sound manner. Labor standards would be considered in the assessment of the receiving country's ability to treat waste sustainably.
As this proposal covers all types of waste, and textiles waste has been highlighted as one of the main types of waste that is exported from the EU, we expect increased scrutiny of the shipment of textiles waste outside of the EU, in particular to those countries that accept high volumes of used textiles. Textile manufacturers and exporters will need to be more cautious about the disposal of their waste and may need to find new ways to manage it.
The fact that more waste will remain in the EU, together with new targets and obligations under EU law to ensure it is recycled, will create challenges in order to ensure the systems change is in place to manage greater volumes of waste without impacting municipal waste targets. However, this also creates opportunities for SMEs to develop innovative businesses and technologies for better waste management e.g. preparation for recycling, recycling technologies, fiber/yarn manufacturing etc.
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The new Regulation on waste shipments was adopted on April 11, 2024 and entered into force on May 20, 2024.