The European Commission is seeking views on whether facilities treating waste shipped from within the EU should be subject to stricter certification requirements to ensure they are not causing harm to the environment.
This comes as part of an ongoing review of the EUs Waste Shipment Regulations. Proposals are currently being examined which are designed to make it harder for illegal exporters to transport waste between EU Member States and out of the Union.
The current WSR Directive passed in 1996 and sought to improve the management of waste across borders laying down requirements for waste shipments both within the EU and between the EU and third countries.
Under current legislation it is illegal to export hazardous waste to non-OECD countries and all exports of waste for disposal outside the EU.
Non-hazardous waste can be exported for recovery outside the OECD provided the waste is managed with no harm to the environment.
A consultation launched this week (December 10) seeks views from users of secondary materials and the waste sector on a range of certification actions that could be undertaken to tackle shipments of waste out of the EU to facilities that may not treat the material in an environmentally sound manner.
Certification
Options being considered by the Commission include either a voluntary or a mandatory scheme for which recipients of material would need to demonstrate that environmentally sound management (ESM) of waste is being carried out on any waste that is processed.
This would require a basic set of criteria to determine what is classed as ESM. The European Commission suggests that a third party organisation would most likely be appointed to establish criteria and to assess and accredit suppliers.
In its consultation, the Commission has asked stakeholders to provide details on the volume of waste currently being sent outside of the EU, and to provide details on the likely impact of the proposals.
Proposals
Respondents have been given until March 17 to reply to the consultation, which can be completed online.
Other changes being looked at by the EU to amend current waste shipment laws include measures to prevent port hopping by illegal exporters, who target Member States with the most lenient controls on waste exports (see letsrecycle.com story).
Changes have also been proposed that would see inspection authorities required to carry out more regular on-the-spot inspections of waste shipments in order to determine if waste is destined for treatment in an environmentally sound manner.
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