Europe open to late applications for waste shipment exports

New rules under the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation 1157/2024 (WSR) required countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD) to submit a request by 21 February 2025 to be able to continue importing recycled materials classified as waste from the EU.   

If no request was submitted by the deadline, a blanket ban on EU exports of recycled materials was set to take effect by 21 May 2027. 

The EC has now said that – given that nearly 150 countries have not applied – late submissions will be allowed, but approval is not guaranteed. 

The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) celebrated the news: “This is a significant step forward, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. 

“With nearly 150 non-OECD countries having failed to submit their notification on time, an automatic export ban by 21 May 2027 remains a serious risk. EuRIC urges them to act quickly to ensure that international trade of recycled materials keeps running smoothly.” 

EuRIC issued a warning earlier in February that most non-OECD countries were “simply not ready” to meet the original deadline.  

A statement from the confederation explained at the time: “[The procedures] involve huge data sets and numerous questions, creating an overwhelming burden on non-OECD countries’ administrations.” 

It has now been confirmed by the EC that the following countries have successfully submitted their notification: Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine and Vietnam. 

EuRIC commented: “EuRlC appreciates the European Commission’s efforts in engaging with non-OECD countries, ensuring transparency on received notifications, and most importantly, showing flexibility by allowing late submissions from non-OECD countries, as EuRlC strongly advocated. 

“Committed to a global, free and fair trade system for recycled materials still classified as waste, including resources like paper, metals and textiles, EuRlC will continue working to ensure the new EU waste shipment rules support, rather than hinder, the circular economy.”