The adopted legislative proposal requires member states to establish inspections plans and is an important step forward in the combat against illegal shipments.
FEAD regrets that the adopted text shifts the burden of proof from the competent authority to the person carrying out the shipment. FEAD Secretary General, Nadine De Greef: “We very much appreciate this legislative proposal, because it will enhance the protection of the environment and human health. However, our members think that inspections should have been limited to suspected illegal shipments. They are concerned about the increasing bureaucratic burden for exports of green-listed waste.”
FEAD supports the provision for an Electronic Data Interchange system and believes this will further improve transparency and traceability of waste flows. FEAD calls upon the European Commission to not restrict the electronic system to the notification procedure but to also assess the inclusion of information documents (Annex VII of the Waste Shipments Regulation). FEAD welcomes the foreseen alignment of customs and waste codes to reduce costs and red tape for businesses and urges the Commission to speed up the development of a correlation table.
First step to combat illegal shipments
During last week’s plenary session, MEPs approved Bart Staes’ report on shipments of waste in first reading. The European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD) welcomes the revision of the Waste Shipments Regulation, which aims to strengthen and harmonise inspection standards throughout the EU.
