Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 on shipments of waste

The Regulation repeals Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and lays down rules governing the transboundary movement of waste within and outside the EU to facilitate the environmentally sound management of waste and protection of the environment and human health against the adverse impacts of the shipment of waste. It shall apply from 21 May 2026 (except for certain specified provisions).

The Regulation implements at the EU level, the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal, including the Ban Amendment thereto that prohibited all exports of hazardous wastes destined for disposal and recovery operations from countries listed in Annex VII to the Basel Convention to countries not listed in that Annex. The Regulation also incorporates the OECD Decision of the Council on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations. 

Key provisions of the regulation include:

• Prohibiting shipments of waste destined for disposal within the EU, except in exceptional cases where certain conditions are fulfilled
• Restricting the export of hazardous and non-hazardous waste for recovery to non-OECD countries
• Combatting illegal waste transport by authorising inspections of shipments by verification of documents, confirmation of the identity of the actors involved in those shipments and, physical checking of the waste
• Requiring companies to demonstrate through independent audits that their waste exports are managed in an environmentally friendly manner 
• Digitising submission and exchange of data for waste shipments within the EU to reduce administrative burdens

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