COUNCIL
REGULATION (EEC) No 259/93
of 1 February 1993
on
the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and
out
of the European Community
This Document contains
amendments made by the following:
THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the
Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article
130s thereof,
Having regard to the
proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the
opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the
opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas the Community
has signed the Basle Convention of 22 March 1989 on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their
disposal;
Whereas provisions
concerning waste are contained in Article 39 of the ACP-EEC Convention of 15
December 1989;
Whereas the Community
has approved the Decision of the OECD Council of 30 March 1992 on the control
of transfrontier movements of wastes destined for
recovery operations;
Whereas, in the light of
the foregoing, Directive 84/631/EEC (4), which organizes the
supervision and control of transfrontier shipments of
hazardous waste, needs to be replaced by a Regulation;
Whereas the supervision
and control of shipments of waste within a Member State is a national
responsibility; whereas, however, national systems for the supervision and
control of shipments of waste within a Member State should comply with minimum
criteria in order to ensure a high level of protection of the environment and
human health;
Whereas it is important
to organize the supervision and control of shipments of wastes in a way which
takes account of the need to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the
environment;
Whereas Council
Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (5) lays down in its
Article 5 (1) that an integrated and adequate network of waste disposal
installations, to be established by Member States through appropriate measures,
where necessary or advisable in cooperation with other Member States, must
enable the Community as a whole to become self-sufficient in waste disposal and
the Member States to move towards that aim individually, taking into account
geographical circumstances or the need for specialized installations for
certain types of waste; whereas Article 7 of the said Directive requests the
drawing up of waste management plans, if appropriate in cooperation with the
Member States concerned, which shall be notified to the Commission, and stipulates
that Member States may take measures necessary to prevent movements of waste
which are not in accordance with their waste management plans and that they
shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of any such measures;
Whereas it is necessary
to apply different procedures depending on the type of waste and its
destination, including whether it is destined for disposal or recovery;
Whereas shipments of
waste must be subject to prior notification to the competent authorities
enabling them to be duly informed in particular of the type, movement and
disposal or recovery of the waste, so that these authorities may take all
necessary measures for the protection of human health and the environment,
including the possibility of raising reasoned objections to the shipment;
Whereas Member States
should be able to implement the principles of proximity, priority for recovery
and self-sufficiency at Community and national levels — in accordance with
Directive 75/442/EEC — by taking measures in accordance with the Treaty to
prohibit generally or partially or to object systematically to shipments of
waste for disposal, except in the case of hazardous waste produced in the
Member State of dispatch in such a small quantity that the provision of new specialized
disposal installations within that State would be uneconomic; whereas the
specific problem of disposal of such small quantities requires cooperation
between the Member States concerned and possible recourse to a Community
procedure;
Whereas exports of waste
for disposal to third countries must be prohibited in order to protect the
environment of those countries; whereas exceptions shall apply to exports to
EFTA countries which are also Parties to the Basle Convention;
Whereas exports of waste
for recovery to countries to which the OECD Decision does not apply must be
subject to conditions providing for environmentally sound management of waste;
Whereas agreements or
arrangements on exports of waste for recovery with countries to which the OECD
Decision does not apply must be subject to periodic review by the Commission
leading, if appropriate, to a proposal by the Commission to reconsider the
conditions under which such exports take place, including the possibility of a
ban;
Whereas shipments of waste
for recovery listed on the green list of the OECD Decision shall be generally
excluded from the control procedures of this Regulation since such waste should
not normally present a risk to the environment if properly recovered in the
country of # IO116,9 # destination; whereas some exceptions to this exclusion
are necessary in accordance with Community legislation and the OECD
Decision; whereas some exceptions are
also necessary in order to facilitate the tracking of such shipments within the
Community and to take account of exceptional cases; whereas such waste shall be
subject to Directive 75/ 442/EEC;
Whereas exports of waste
for recovery listed on the OECD green list to countries to which the OECD
Decision does not apply must be subject to consultation by the Commission with
the country of destination; whereas it may be appropriate in the light of such
consultation that the
Commission make
proposals to the Council;
Whereas exports of waste
for recovery to countries which are not parties to the Basle Convention must be
subject to specific agreements between these countries and the Community;
whereas Member States must, in exceptional cases, be able to conclude after the
date of application of this Regulation bilateral agreements for the import of specific
waste before the Community has concluded such agreements, in the case of waste
for recovery in order to avoid any interruption of waste treatment and in the
case of waste for disposal where the country of dispatch does not have or
cannot reasonably acquire the technical capacity and necessary facilities to
dispose of the waste in an environmentally sound manner;
Whereas provision must
be made for the waste to be taken back or to be disposed of or recovered in an
alternative and environmentally sound manner if the shipment cannot be
completed in accordance with the terms of the consignment note or the contract;
Whereas, in the event of
illegal traffic, the person whose action is the cause of such traffic must take
back and/or dispose of or recover the waste in an alternative and
environmentally sound manner; whereas, should he fail to do so, the competent
authorities of dispatch or destination, as appropriate, must themselves
intervene;
Whereas it is important
for a system of financial guarantees or equivalent insurance to be established;
Whereas Member States
must provide the Commission with information relevant to the implementation of
this Regulation;
Whereas the documents
provided for by this Regulation must be established and the Annexes adapted
within a Community procedure,
HAS ADOPTED THIS
REGULATION:
TITLE I
SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
1. This Regulation shall
apply to shipments of waste within, into and out of the Community.
2. The following shall
be excluded from the scope of this Regulation:
(a) the offloading to
shore of waste generated by the normal operation of ships and offshore
platforms, including waste water and residues, provided that such waste is the
subject of a specific binding international instrument;
(b) shipments of civil
aviation waste;
(c) shipments
of radioactive waste as defined in Article 2 of Directive 92/3/Euratom of 3
February 1992 on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste
between Member States and into and out of the Community (6);
(d) shipments
of waste mentioned in Article 2 (1) (b) of Directive 75/ 442/EEC, where they
are already covered by other relevant legislation;
(e) shipments of waste
into the Community in accordance with the requirements of the Protocol on
Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
3. (a) Shipments of
waste destined for recovery only and listed in Annex II shall also be excluded
from the provisions of this Regulation except as provided for in subparagraphs
(b), (c), (d) and (e), in Article 11 and in Article 17 (1), (2) and (3).
(b) Such waste shall be
subject to all provisions of Directive 75/442/ EEC. It shall in particular be:
— destined for duly
authorized facilities only, authorized according to Article 10 and 11 of
Directive 75/442/EEC,
— subject to all
provisions of Articles 8, 12, 13 and 14 of Directive 75/442/EEC.
(c) However, certain
wastes listed in Annex II may be controlled, if, among other reasons, they
exhibit any of the hazardous characteristics listed in Annex III of Council
Directive 91/689/ EEC (7), as if they had been listed in Annex III
or IV.
These wastes and the
decision about which of the two procedures should be followed shall be
determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of
Directive 75/442/EEC. Such wastes shall be listed in Annex II (a).
(d) In exceptional
cases, shipments of wastes listed in Annex II may, for environmental or public
health reasons, be controlled by Member States as if they had been listed in
Annex III or IV. Member States which make use of this possibility shall
immediately notify the Commission of such cases and inform other Member States,
as appropriate, and give reasons for their decision. The Commission, in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC,
may confirm such action including, where appropriate, by adding such wastes to
Annex II.A.
(e) Where waste listed
in Annex II is shipped in contravention of this Regulation or of Directive
75/442/EEC, Member States may apply appropriate provisions of Articles 25 and
26 of this Regulation.
Article 2
For the purposes of this
Regulation:
(a) waste
is as defined in Article 1 (a) of Directive 75/442/EEC;
(b) competent
authorities means the competent authorities designated by either the Member
States in accordance with Article 36 or non- Member States;
(c) competent
authority of dispatch means the competent authority, designated by the
Member States in accordance with Article 36, for the area from which the
shipment is dispatched or designated by non-Member States;
(d) competent
authority of destination means the competent authority, designated by the
Member States in accordance with Article 36, for the area in which the shipment
is received, or in which waste is loaded on board before disposal at sea
without prejudice to existing conventions on disposal at sea or designated by
non-Member States;
(e) competent
authority of transit means the single authority designated by Member States
in accordance with Article 36 for the State through which the shipment is in
transit;
(f) correspondent
means the central body designated by each Member State and the Commission,
in accordance with Article 37;
(g) notifier
means any natural person or corporate body to whom or to which the duty to
notify is assigned, that is to say the person referred to hereinafter who
proposes to ship waste or have waste shipped:
(i)
the person whose activities produced the waste (original producer); or
(ii) where
this is not possible, a collector licensed to this effect by a Member State or
a registered or licensed dealer or broker who arranges for the disposal or the
recovery of waste; or
(iii) where these
persons are unknown or are not licensed, the person having possession or legal
control of the waste (holder); or
(iv) in the case of
import into or transit through the Community of waste, the person designated by
the laws of the State of dispatch or, when this designation has not taken
place, the person having possession or legal control of the waste (holder);
(h) consignee means
the person or undertaking to whom or to which the waste is shipped for recovery
or disposal;
(i)
disposal is as defined in Article 1 (e)
of Directive 75/442/EEC;
(j) authorized centre
means any establishment or undertaking authorized or licensed pursuant to
Article 6 of Directive 75/439/EEC (8), Articles 9, 10 and 11 of
Directive 75/442/EEC and Article 6 of Directive 76/403/EEC (9);
(k) recovery
is as defined in Article 1 (f) of Directive 75/442/EEC;
(l) State of dispatch
means any State from which a shipment of waste is planned or made;
(m) State of
destination means any State to which a shipment of waste is planned or made
for disposal or recovery, or for loading on board before disposal at sea
without prejudice to existing conventions on disposal at sea;
(n) State of transit means
any State, other than the State of dispatch or destination, through which a
shipment of waste is planned or made;
(o) consignment note means
the standard consignment note to be drawn up in accordance with Article 42;
(p) the
Basle Convention means the Basle Convention of 22 March 1989 on the control
of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and
their disposal;
(q) the
fourth Lomé Convention means the Lomé Convention of 15 December 1989;
(r) the
OECDD ecision means the decision of the OECD
Council of 30 March 1992 on the control of transfrontier
movements of wastes destined for recovery operations.
TITLE II
SHIPMENTS OF WASTE BETWEEN MEMBER STATES
Chapter A
Waste for disposal
Article 3
1. Where the notifier intends to ship waste for disposal from one Member
State to another Member State and/or pass it in transit through one or several
other Member States, and without prejudice to Articles 25 (2) and 26 (2), he
shall notify the competent authority of destination and send a copy of the
notification to the competent authorities of dispatch and of transit and to the
consignee.
2. Notification shall mandatorily cover any intermediate stage of the shipment
from the place of dispatch to its final destination.3. Notification shall be
effected by means of the consignment note which shall be issued by the
competent authority of dispatch.
4. In making
notification, the notifier shall complete the
consignment note and shall, if requested by competent authorities, supply
additional information and documentation.
5. The notifier shall supply on the consignment note information
with particular regard to:
— the source,
composition and quantity of the waste for disposal including, in the case of
Article 2 (g) (ii), the producer's identity and, in the case of waste from
various sources a detailed inventory of the waste and, if known, the identity
of the original producers,
— the arrangements for
routing and for insurance against damage to third parties,
— the measures to be
taken to ensure safe transport and, in particular, compliance by the carrier
with the conditions laid down for transport by the Member States concerned,
— the identity of the
consignee of the waste, the location of the disposal centre and the type and
duration of the authorization under which the centre operates. The centre must
have adequate technical capacity for the disposal of the waste in question
under conditions presenting no danger to human health or to the environment,
— the
operations involving disposal as referred to in Annex II.A to Directive
75/442/EEC.
6. The notifier must make a contract with the consignee for the
disposal of the waste.
The contract may include
some or all of the information referred to in paragraph 5.
The contract must
include the obligation:
— of the notifier, in accordance with Articles 25 and 26 (2), to
take the waste back if the shipment has not been completed as planned or if it
has been effected in violation of this Regulation,
— of the consignee, to
provide as soon as possible and no later than 180 days following the receipt of
the waste a certificate to the notifier that the
waste has been disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.
A copy of this contract
must be supplied to the competent authority on request.
Should the waste be
shipped between two establishments under the control of the same legal entity,
this contract may be replaced by a declaration by the entity in question
undertaking to dispose of the waste.
7. The information given
in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 6 shall be treated confidentially in
accordance with existing national regulations.
8. A competent authority
of dispatch may, in accordance with national legislation, decide to transmit
the notification itself instead of the notifier to
the competent authority of destination, with copies to the consignee and to the
competent authority of transit. The competent authority of dispatch may decide
not to proceed with notification if it has itself immediate objections to raise
against the shipment in accordance with Article 4 (3). It shall immediately
inform the notifier of these objections.
Article 4
1. On receipt of the
notification, the competent authority of destination shall, within three
working days, send an acknowledgement to the notifier
and copies thereof to the other competent authorities concerned and to the
consignee.
2. (a) The competent
authority of destination shall have 30 days following dispatch of the
acknowledgement to take its decision authorizing the shipment, with or without
conditions, or refusing it. It may also request additional information.
It shall give its
authorization only in the absence of objections on its part or on the part of
the other competent authorities. The authorization shall be subject to any
transport conditions referred to in (d).
The competent authority
of destination shall take its decision not earlier than 21 days following the
dispatch of the acknowledgement. It may, however, take its decision earlier if
it has the written consent of the other competent authorities concerned.
The competent authority
of destination shall send its decision to the notifier
in writing, with copies to the other competent authorities concerned.
(b) The competent
authorities of dispatch and transit may raise objections within 20 days
following the dispatch of the acknowledgement. They may also request additional
information. These objections shall be conveyed in writing to the notifier, with copies to the other competent authorities
concerned.
(c) The objections and
conditions referred to in (a) and (b) shall be based on paragraph 3.
(d) The competent
authorities of dispatch and transit may, within 20 days following the dispatch
of the acknowledgement, lay down conditions in respect of the transport of
waste within their jurisdiction.
These conditions must be
notified to the notifier in writing, with copies to
the competent authorities concerned, and entered in the consignment note. They
may not be more stringent than those laid down in respect of similar shipments
occurring wholly within their jurisdiction and shall take due account of
existing agreements, in particular relevant international conventions.
3. (a)
(i) In order to implement the principles of
proximity, priority for recovery and self-sufficiency at Community and national
levels in accordance with Directive 75/442/EEC, Member States may take measures
in accordance with the Treaty to prohibit generally or partially or to object
systematically to shipments of waste. Such measures shall immediately be
notified to the Commission, which will inform the other Member States.
(ii) In the case of
hazardous waste (as defined in Article 1 (4) of Directive 91/689/EEC) produced
in a Member State of dispatch in such a small quantity overall per year that
the
provision of new
specialized disposal installations within that State would be uneconomic, (i) shall not apply.
(iii) The Member State
of destination shall cooperate with the Member State of dispatch which
considers that (ii) applies, with a view to resolving the issue bilaterally. If
there is no satisfactory solution, either Member State may refer the matter to
the Commission, which will determine the issue in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC,
(b) The competent
authorities of dispatch and destination, while taking into account geographical
circumstances or the need for specialized installations for certain types of
waste, may raise reasoned objections to planned shipments if they are not in
accordance with Directive 75/442/EEC, especially Articles 5 and 7:
(i)
in order to implement the principle of self-sufficiency at Community and
national levels;
(ii) in cases where the
installation has to dispose of waste from a nearer source and the competent
authority has given priority to this waste;
(iii) in order to ensure
that shipments are in accordance with waste management plans.
(c) Furthermore, the
competent authorities of dispatch, destination and transit may raise reasoned
objections to the planned shipment if:
— it is not in
accordance with national laws and regulations relating to environmental
protection, public order, public safety or health protection,
— the notifier or the consignee was previously guilty of illegal
trafficking.
In this case, the
competent authority of dispatch may refuse all shipments involving the person
in question in accordance with national legislation, or
— the
shipment conflicts with obligations resulting from international conventions
concluded by the Member State or Member States concerned.
4. If, within the time
limits laid down in paragraph 2, the competent authorities are satisfied that
the problems giving rise to their objections have been solved and that the
conditions in respect of the transport will be met, they shall immediately
inform the notifier in writing, with copies to the
consignee and to the other competent authorities concerned. If there is
subsequently any essential change in the conditions of the shipment, a new
notification must be made.
5. The competent authority
of destination shall signify its authorization by appropriately stamping the
consignment note.
Article 5
1. The shipment may be
effected only after the notifier has received
authorization from the competent authority of destination.
2. Once the notifier has received authorization, he shall insert the
date of shipment and otherwise complete the consignment note and send copies to
the competent authorities concerned three working days before the shipment is
made.
3. A copy or, if
requested by the competent authorities, a specimen of the consignment note,
together with the stamp of authorization, shall accompany each shipment.
4. All undertakings
involved in the operation shall complete the consignment note at the points
indicated, sign it and retain a copy thereof.
5. Within three working
days following receipt of the waste for disposal, the consignee shall send
copies of the completed consignment note, except for the certificate referred
to in paragraph 6, to the notifier and the competent
authorities concerned.
6. As soon as possible
and not later than 180 days following the receipt of the waste, the consignee
shall, under his responsibility, send a certificate of disposal to the notifier and the other competent authorities concerned.
This certificate shall be part of or attached to the= consignment note which
accompanies the shipment.