Archiv – Twelve EU member state governments have agreed to step up enforcement of cross-border waste shipment controls after a study showed widespread irregularities and gaps in enforcement activities. More countries are expected to join the initiative.Twelve EU member state governments have agreed to step up enforcement of cross-border waste shipment controls after a study showed widespread irregularities and gaps in enforcement activities. More countries are expected to join the initiative.
Irregularities were discovered in three out of 11 shipments checked: in one instance, the waste was not what had been notified, while in another the local environmental permit of the receiving site did not match the notification. In a third case, the waste exporter had deliberately cited an EU state as the destination, whereas in fact the shipment was bound for China. This was a clear breach of EU law since environmentally-significant wastes requiring notification under waste shipment regulations are automatically banned from being exported to developing countries. The investigation also revealed major deficiencies in the performance of national regulators.
The countries involved are to carry out joint and co-ordinated inspections, starting with waste sources and then moving on through transport to treatment facilities. The partners have agreed to boost information exchange and to improve communication.
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