The New Regulations on Waste Shipments: Green List Controls

Abstract: On 12 July 2007, European Parliament and Council Regulation 1013/2006 on Shipments of Waste ('the Regulation') came into force. This establishes new rules applicable to transboundary shipments of waste, both within the EU and with non-EU countries.

This article explains and analyses the rules on the international shipment of waste in view of this new Regulation and also considers how the position is enhanced in the UK by the UK statutory instrument the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007.

In order to ascertain which controls apply to shipments of international waste, legal practitioners need to consider the details of:

. whether the waste is to be recovered or disposed;

. the type of waste being exported;

. and the status of the consignee’s country.

This article focuses on the export of international waste shipments from the UK and the 'Green List Controls' applying to shipments of non-hazardous waste for recovery. The purpose of the article is to provide analysis on whether the new rules place the responsibility on the carrier to ensure that the documentation is correct or whether it is the responsibility of the shipper.