Verification of Waste Destinations

Project description and aims

The project aimed to increase cooperation and information exchange on the verification of waste destinations within the framework of EU Regulation 259/93 (Waste Shipment Regulation WSR) on the supervision and control of waste shipments, by performing inspections in the participating countries and follow the waste streams to their final destination.

Project results

• The network of enforcement authorities in participating countries has been further improved and contacts have been specified for enforcement authorities within participating countries, responsible for supervision of main waste disposal and processing facilities. Nevertheless, there are large varieties in tasks, competencies and jurisdictions of involved organisations. Also the way in which the three-day priornotification is implemented into national legislation varies;
• A method (manual) for the verification of waste shipments has been developed, based on existing methods and experiences. The method contains administrative checks, inspections ‘on spot’ and the way of information exchange between (enforcement) authorities involved;
• Waste shipments have been verified. Participating countries intended to check 25 notified waste shipments. Eleven inspections have finally been checked ‘from cradle to grave’. It turned out that a number of notifications (7 out of 25) have not been ‘in use’. Irregularities were detected in three cases. The results give input for further improvement of the enforcement of the regulation in the future;
• For a number of reasons the three-day prior notification was found to be very difficult to enforce. The prior notification is submitted to a/the Competent Authority/Authorities of the country/region which is not automatically the responsible enforcement authority. Also planning of inspection capacity in a time frame of a couple of days to verify the shipments has found to be difficult;
• Practical experiences and information has been exchanged.

Recommendations

Based upon the experiences and enforcement results of the project, the following recommendations can be given:

• The European Commission should reconsider the obligations on the three-day prior notification within the revision of EU Regulation 295/93. The notification procedure should be regulated in such a way that it can be enforced adequately, e.g. by stimulating electronic data exchange on notifications (like EUDIN), also between authorities responsible for these notifications and those who are responsible for enforcement;
• The (revised) Regulation 259/93 has to obligate Member States to give an annual report about the proceedings of the enforcement actions. These results have to be analysed by a working party in assignment of the Commission and be use for further improvement of the regulation.
• Member States should be stimulated to report their experiences with enforcement of three-day prior notification. The (revised) Regulation 259/93 should foresee in this obligation.
• IMPEL/IMPEL-TFS should work on an extensive internet website with relevant information on waste shipments regulation & enforcement, with full contact information, waste catalogues/reference books, etc.;
• Competent authorities and/or enforcement authorities should assign one central coordination point on national level, moreover in those circumstances were responsibilities for (enforcement of) the notification procedure are laid down at regional levels. Also Competent – and enforcement authorities should work on improved access on three day prior notification data systems, to enable accurate “verification inspections”;
• The project management proposes to enlarge the established cooperation with more EU countries, to extend the project focus with green listed wastes and non-notified wastes, and to focus on inspections at crossing points of borders on a strategic level (with participation of more then one enforcement authority).