The European Parliament has voted for tougher rules to export waste from the block to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of mostly rich countries.
Exports of non-hazardous plastic waste to non-OECD countries will be prohibited, whilst those to OECD countries will be subject to stricter conditions. The European Parliament and Council first reached a provisional agreement on the new rules in November 2023. The ban on export of plastics will start two and a half years after the regulation comes into force.
The new rules build on the provisions of the Basel Convention that already bans exports of hazardous waste from the EU to third countries. The European Council said in a statement that since the adoption of the regulation in 2006, exports from the EU to non-OECD countries have ‘increased considerably’. According to the Basel Action Network (BAN), EU plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries rose to 50 million kg/month in May 2023 from 28.1 million kg/month in May 2022, equivalent to 303 shipping containers per day.
Non-OECD countries can apply for exemptions to the ban within five years after the regulation enter into force if they demonstrate ‘strict’ waste management standards. If the European Commission approves the application, it can lift the export ban by means of a delegated act.
The regulation also requires that the exchange of information and data on waste shipments be digitalised within the EU, in order to ‘improve reporting and transparency’. Moreover, shipping waste to another EU country for disposal will only be allowed in ‘exceptional circumstances’. Waste management facilities in third countries, including OECD countries, will be subject to audits to ensure they follow ‘environmentally sound management’ of waste.
“The revised law will bring more certainty to Europeans that our waste will be appropriately managed, no matter where it is shipped to,” said Rapporteur Pernille Weiss from the European People’s Party. “The EU will finally assume responsibility for its plastic waste by banning its export to non-OECD countries. Waste is a resource when it is properly managed, but should not in any case be causing harm to the environment or human health.”
Turkey, an OECD country, is the largest destination for EU plastic waste exports in recent years. EU exports to Turkey increased from 4.5 million kg/month in June 2021 to 31.7 million kg/month in May 2023, equivalent to 192 truckloads of plastic waste per day.