In adopting, by an overwhelming majority (76 votes in favour, none against and 5 abstentions), the report by Pernille Weiss (EPP, Danish), the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment (ENVI) expressed, on Thursday 1 December, its full support for the revision of waste shipment rules, proposed by the Commission in November 2021, to restrict waste exports, combat illegal shipments in the EU and give a boost to the circular economy (see EUROPE 12834/3).
The ENVI Committee supports the proposal to establish an explicit ban on shipments within the EU of all waste destined for disposal, combined with an exception for certain duly justified cases.
To strengthen the prevention and detection of illegal shipments, MEPs call for the creation of a European risk-based targeting mechanism to guide EU countries carrying out inspections to prevent and detect illegal shipments of waste.
Regarding shipments outside the EU, MEPs agree that exports of hazardous waste from the EU to non-OECD countries should be banned.
Exports from the EU of non-hazardous waste for recovery would only be allowed to non-OECD countries that give their consent and demonstrate their capacity to reprocess such waste in a sustainable manner.
MEPs are in favour of a stricter obligation to demonstrate that the waste shipped is managed in an environmentally sound manner.
The vote also calls for a ban on the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries and the phasing out of plastic waste exports to OECD countries within 4 years.
In Ms Weiss’ opinion, the text voted on offers “safeguards for human and environmental health, while providing the necessary framework for industry to achieve our ambitions”.
The call for an export ban on plastics was immediately welcomed by the NGO Human Rights Watch, which said it “sends a clear message that EU countries must take responsibility for their own waste instead of sending it to countries with weak environmental regulations and weak government oversight of environmental, health and labour rights violations”.
The European Parliament vote is scheduled for the January plenary session. The Council of the EU has not yet adopted its position (see EUROPE 12982/12).
See the ‘Weiss’ report: https://aeur.eu/f/4eu (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)