The European Commission’s Environment Committee (ENVI) has backed draft rules that would require European Union (EU) member states to clamp down on illegal waste shipments.

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted by 60 votes to six to accept the amendments to the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation (first proposed last summer) on Wednesday (22 January).

The law currently bans all exports of hazardous waste to countries outside of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and all exports of waste for disposal outside the EU. However, the EC says that around 25 per cent of waste shipments sent from the EU to developing countries contravene international regulations. The countries that receive these illegal shipments often lack the infrastructure needed to process waste effectively. As such, waste (especially hazardous waste) is often dumped or mismanaged, ‘causing serious negative impacts on human health and the environment’.

To counter this, last summer the EC proposed amendments to the WSR to ensure all member states follow stringent inspection procedures. It is this proposed text that has now been accepted by ENVI.

It is hoped the changes will help crack down on illegal waste exports and ‘port hopping’ (which sees illegal waste exporters move ships containing hazardous waste to ports with the most lenient controls) by requiring member states to be more transparent and thorough with their checks.

Specifically, the draft text states that member states should:

• set out their priorities in annual inspection plans;
• carry out risk assessment for specific waste streams and sources of illegal shipments;
• give inspectors more power to demand evidence from suspected illegal waste exporters; and
• include a minimum number of physical checks in waste shipment inspections;
• make information on check findings available to the public; and
• give inspectors more powers.

Speaking after the vote, rapporteur Bart Staes said: “Too many member states have been dragging their feet and have not been carrying out any real time inspections and checks on illegal waste shipments from their territories.

“Although the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) requires that all waste exported out of the OECD countries is treated in an environmentally sound manner to protect citizens and environment, inspections have shown that approximately 25 per cent of waste shipments within the EU do not comply with the WSR.”

The text will be put to a vote by the full house during the 14-17 April plenary session in Strasbourg.

Read more about the problem of illegal waste shipments in Resource 73.