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[EU] Reinforcement of requirements for inspection of shipments of waste
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Regulation (EU) No 660/2014 of 15 May 2014 strengthens the requirements for inspection of shipments of waste within the EU and between the EU and third countries. For this purpose, it amends Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste. Thus, Member States must have established plans for inspections by 1 January 2017.
The new Regulation aims to strengthen the requirements for control of shipments of waste in order to end the differences and deficiencies identified in the application of regulations and inspections in the Member States. First, it introduces the term “re-use” , defined as “any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived”.
The term “inspection” is also introduced in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, defined as “actions undertaken by the authorities involved to ascertain whether an establishment, an undertaking, a broker, a dealer, a shipment of waste or the related recovery or disposal complies with the relevant requirements set out in this Regulation”. Furthermore, Member states will be required to establish one or more inspection plans no later than 1 January 2017 (Article 50). These plans, drawn up for the entire geographical territory of the Member State, should be based on a risk assessment on waste streams and sources of illegal trafficking. Details concerning their content are also provided. The amendments to Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 also concern the ways to conduct inspections of shipments, which include verification of documents, confirmation of the identity and, if appropriate, physical checking of the waste. These checks can be performed in particular: “(a) at the point of origin, carried out with the producer, holder or notifier; (b) at the point of destination, including interim and non-interim recovery or disposal, carried out with the consignee or the facility; (c) at the frontiers of the Union; and/or (d) during the shipment within the Union.” To note, the European Commission is required to conduct the review of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, no later than 31 December 2020, and to provide a report on the results to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied where appropriate by a legislation proposal (amendment of Article 60). Regulation (EU) No 660/2014 shall apply from 1 January 2016, with the exception of the amendments to paragraph 2 of Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (concerning the obligation of Member states to draw up, before the end of each calendar year, a report for the previous year, based on the additional reporting questionnaire in Annex IX), which shall apply from 1 January 2018. As a reminder, Regulation (EU) No 733/2014 of 24 June 2014 amended Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 in order to update the list of countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply. For this purpose, it amended the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 and it mainly removes the entries for New Zealand and Israel.Sources : Regulation (EU) No 660/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, OJEU L 189 of 27 June 2014, p. 135–142
External link : to Regulation (EU) No 660/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJEU L 189 of 27 June 2014)