Waste shipment – Transboundary

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General information

Within the EU, the import, export and transit of wastes to, from or through EU states are subject to approval. Exception: wastes of the "Green List of Wastes" for recovery.

Caution

Illegal, transboundary shipment of significant quantities of waste constitutes a criminal offence. It constitutes a punishable offence, no matter whether this shipment actually constitutes a danger for humans or the environment.

The procedures and control provisions for a transboundary shipment of wastes are EU-wide regulated in detail. The basis is the Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (EC Waste Shipments Regulation). Supplementary provisions can be found in the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz. Moreover export bans for certain wastes exist for the shipment of wastes involving Non-EU States. For certain wastes (e.g. mixed municipal wastes) special requirements are provided for.

In connection with a shipment the following actors must become active:

  • Notifying person
  • Country of dispatch and/or competent authority at the place of dispatch
  • Country of destination and/or competent authority at the place of destination
  • In the case of transit: Country/Countries of transit and/or the competent authority for transit
  • Consignee of the wastes

A distinction is made in particular between the following procedures:

  • Procedures concerning the shipment of wastes for recovery
  • Procedures concerning the shipment of wastes for disposal

The shipment of wastes from the "Green List of Wastes" for recovery, which is not subject to notification and approval, is only subject to information obligations.

Detailed information on transboundary waste shipments, templates and a comprehensive fact sheet on the subject can be found at Waste shipments (→ BMK)German text.

Please note

For the transboundary shipment of second-hand goods has been introduced an obligation to furnish written evidence (proof of the places of origin and destination as well as the non-waste property and the proof of the functionality). Accordingly the authorities can request the owner or the initiator of the shipment to forward certain written evidence. Otherwise the control authorities could come to the conclusion that the respective second-hand goods are waste.

Enterprises affected

Affected are enterprises which carry out imports of wastes to, exports of wastes from, or transits of wastes through EU countries.

Requirements

The person, who intends to carry out or has carried out a shipment of waste subject to approval, is the notifying person. She/he must submit, prior to the transboundary shipment of wastes, a written notification.

Caution

The notifying person must conclude with the consignees of the waste on the occasion of the notification a contract on the recovery or disposal of the notified wastes. If the wastes are shipped between two establishments which can be assigned to one and the same legal person the contract can be replaced by a declaration of the legal person in which it commits itself to recycle or to dispose the notified wastes.

For every shipment of wastes subject to notification the notifying person must either deposit securities or conclude appropriate insurances.

They must cover the following:

  • Transport costs
  • the costs of recovery or of disposal, including any necessary interim operation, as well as
  • Storage costs for 90 days

The securities or appropriate insurances are destined to cover the costs that might accrue, if a shipment, recovery or disposal cannot be concluded in the planned way or if a shipment, recovery or disposal has turned out to be illegal.

Tip

→ Respective samples on securities, liability insurances, and warrants of traders and/or brokers can be downloaded at the website of the BMK.

Shipment of "green" listed wastes

No approval is required for the shipment of wastes from the "Green list of wastes" within the EU as well as into the EU for purposes of recovery. The completed form in Annex VII to the Regulation (EC) on shipments of waste must be carried by the person who arranges the shipment.

An effective contract on the recovery of the wastes must be concluded between the person arranging for the shipment and the consignee right from the beginning of the shipment.

Exceptions: If wastes of the "Green List of Wastes" are contaminated in such a way that they show hazardous properties, a licence for the shipment must be applied for (notification procedure). Please ask the competent body in advance.

Please note

Documents and information in connection with shipments must be kept for at least seven years starting with the beginning of the shipment.

Deadlines

  • Notification of the actual start of the shipment after notification of approval by the competent authorities at least three working days before the beginning of the approved shipment
  • Confirmation of the reception of wastes by the facility: Within three working days after the acceptance
  • Notification of the recovery or disposal of the wastes: at the latest 30 days after the termination of the recycling or disposal and not later than one calendar year after the reception provided that not a shorter period has been fixed.

Competent authority

For shipments from Austria

For shipments to Austria

Procedure

Shipments subject to notification

The written notification procedure is initiated by the application at the competent authority at the place of departure.

Please note

Those who intend to carry out a shipment of wastes from Austria (exports) subject to notification must first register electronically at edm.gv.at (→ BMK)German text .

  • Applications for notifications for shipments from Austria (exports, Deutsches Eck) must be filled out online and submitted electronically via eVerbringung on edm.gv.at (→ BMK)German text to the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.
  • The competent authority at the place of dispatch shall forward the proper notification within three working days after the reception to the authorities concerned and informs the notifying person about it.
  • The competent authorities can demand further information and documents from the notifying person.
  • If all required documents have been made available the competent authority at the place of destination submits a confirmation of receipt (acknowledgement).The competent authorities at the place of destination and at the place of dispatch as well as the competent authority for the transit shall take, within a period of 30 days (by way of derogation in the case of a shipment within the framework of prior consent the period shall be 7 days) after the forwarding of the confirmation of receipt, their reasoned decisions on the permissibility of the shipment.
    • Approval without requirements
    • Approval with requirements
    • Raising of objections
  • The competent authorities for transit can give their a tacit consent also by expiry of the deadline without raising objections.
  • After the consent of all competent authorities to the notified shipment all enterprises involved must fill in the movement document at the appropriate places and sign it. The enterprises involved must keep a copy thereof.
  • The notifying person forwards for that purpose the signed copies of the movement document to the competent authorities at the place of dispatch and at the place of destination as well as to the competent authorities for transit and the consignee. He/she keeps for himself/herself a copy of the movement document. The original of the movement document is kept by the facility receiving the wastes.

Caution

With every transport the movement document and copies of the notification form must be carried along (including the written declarations or decisions of consent of the competent authorities plus requirements, if there are any).

  • The facility receiving the wastes must confirm the acceptance of the wastes in writing within a period of three working days after their reception. This confirmation must be indicated in the movement document or attached to it. The notifying person and the affected competent authorities will receive signed copies of the movement document with the confirmation.
  • At the latest 30 days after the termination of the recovery or disposal and not later than one calendar year after the reception of the wastes (or within a shorter period fixed by the competent authorities) the termination of the recovery or the disposal of the wastes must be certified. This certification shall be indicated in the movement document or attached with it. The notifying person and the affected competent authorities will receive signed copies of the movement document with the certification.
  • In the case of waste shipments to Austria (imports) the notifications of receipt and processing have to be submitted electronically via eVerbringung on edm.gv.at (→ BMK)German text . In the case of waste shipments from Austria (exports) the notification of individual transports/shipments have also to be submitted electronically via eVerbringung.

Please note

In the case of considerable changes of the shipment (e.g. change of the planned quantity, change of the transport route, change of the forwarder) after the consent given by the authorities, as a rule, a new notification must be applied for. Please ask the competent body in advance.

Required documents

Shipments subject to notification

Notification and movement documents, including

  • Technical description of the facility and the treatment of the residual waste
  • Contract between the notifying person and the consignee on the environmentally benign treatment of wastes in German and in English
  • Licences of the recycling and disposal facility of the consignee
  • Analysis / Description of the physico-chemical characteristics of the waste
  • Proof of the financial guarantee (in case of exports in the form of the original, in the case of imports and transits in the form of original or copy)
  • Proof of sufficient liability insurance
  • Other information which is relevant for the assessment of the notification
  • In the case of an alternative treatment of POP wastes for the purposes of the EC-POP Regulation: Proof that this waste treatment constitutes the preferable option from the environmental point of view
  • the evidence pursuant to § 69 para. 10 AWG on the implementation of the provision on the transfer of waste transports to the railways

Please note

The notification form must be completely filled in. The movement document must be filled in to the extent to which it is possible at the time of application (the fields: 2, 5, 6, and 15, can, in any case not be completed but immediately before the actual shipment). The company signature must be affixed on the above-mentioned forms, which must be forwarded together with the other required documents by mail to the competent authority (mail address). The forms can be found on the pages of the BMK.

If the shipped wastes are destined for interim recovery or disposal, a separate form "Form for certifications according to Article 15, (e) of the EC Waste Shipment Regulation" shall be used.

Shipment of wastes from the "Green list of wastes" for the purpose of recovery within the EU as well as into the EU

  • Form according to Annex VII of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation which is to be carried along during transport
    (This document must be signed before carrying out the shipment by the person arranging for the shipment, and by the recycling facility or the laboratory and the consignee at the time when the respective wastes are handed over.)
  • Contract on the recovery of the wastes
    (A copy of this contract must be forwarded to the competent authority upon its request.)

Costs and fees

Costs depend on various ordinances on levies and fees. Please ask the competent authority in advance.

Further information

General notification

The notifying person can apply for a general notification covering several shipments, if the following applies to every individual shipment:

  • The wastes show basically similar physical and chemical properties
  • The wastes are shipped to the same consignee and to the same facility
  • The transport route indicated in the notification form is the same

If, due to unpredictable circumstances the same transport route cannot be followed, the respective competent authority has to be informed as soon as possible thereof and, if possible before the beginning of the shipment (if the necessity of changing the transport route is already known).

Caution

The general notification must not be used If the change of the transport route is known before the beginning of the shipment, and if others than the competent authorities concerned by the general notification are involved. A new notification must be submitted.

The concerned competent authorities can make their consent to a general notification depend on the subsequent submission of additional information and documents.

Contract on the recovery or disposal

The contract on the recovery or disposal of the notified wastes between the notifying person and the consignee must be effective for the whole period of the shipment to the ultimate completion and must comprise in particular the following obligations:

  • The obligation of the notifying person to take back the wastes, if the shipment or the recovery or the disposal has not taken place as planned or in an illegal manner.
  • The obligation of the consignee to recover or dispose the wastes, if their shipment has taken place illegally.
  • The obligation of the facility (the owner of the facility) to submit a certification that the wastes have been recovered and disposed according to the notification and the conditions laid down therein as well as according to the provisions of the Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (EC Waste Shipments Regulation).

If the shipped wastes are destined for the interim recovery or disposal, the contract must comprise the following additional requirements:

  • The obligation of the facility of destination (the owner of the facility) to submit a certification that the wastes have been recovered and disposed according to the notification and the conditions laid down therein as well as according to the provisions of the Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (EC Waste Shipments Regulation)
  • If applicable, the obligation of the consignee to submit a notification at the originally competent authority

The costs (including transport, recovery, and disposal) are first and foremost charged to the notifying person.

Tip

The BMK offers on its Website → template contracts.

Rail Transport

Information on environmentally friendly waste transport (by rail transport) can also be found at USP.gv.at.

Import ban on certain wastes for the purpose of landfilling

The shipment of certain mixed, commingled and similarly pre-treated wastes to Austria for the purpose of landfilling or for the purpose of solidification, stabilisation or immobilisation prior to landfilling is prohibited. The import ban includes in particular the EAV codes 19 02 03, 19 02 04*, 19 03 04*, 19 03 05, 19 12 11*, 19 12 12.

Transboundary shipments of used electrical and electronic equipment

In case of a transboundary shipment of used electrical and electronic equipment the person initiating the shipment has to comply with the minimum requirements laid down in Annex 6 to the Elektroaltgeräteverordnung. Otherwise it is a transboundary shipment of wastes

Transboundary shipment of end-of-life vehicles and used vehicles

The transboundary shipment of non-depolluted end-of-life vehicles to EU Member States as well as to OECD Decision states requires,

  • a notification and consent on the part of the BMK as well as
  • the approval of the respective competent authorities in the respective states involved in the transboundary shipment (country of destination, transit state).

The export of non-dehumidified end-of-life vehicles to non-OECD Decision states is prohibited.

In the case of transboundary shipment of used vehicles - the submission of written evidence for the documentation of the non-waste status (e.g. positive vehicle assessment report, expert opinion of one of those mentioned under point 1.2., certification for the purposes of Annex 3 to the EU Correspondents’ Guidelines No 9 or the form included in Annex 1 "Certification on the reparability of a vehicle", from which the above-mentioned criteria for the differentiation between used vehicles and end-of-life vehicles must be apparent) can be demanded in Austria – not withstanding more rigid requirements in other Member States.

Please note

For the differentiation between end-of-life vehicles and used vehicles a comprehensive obligation to furnish evidence in writing (evidence on the place of origin and on the destination as well as on the non-waste status and proof of functionality) has become EU-wide legally binding on an scale.

Please note

Prerequisite for the reimbursement of the standard fuel consumption tax (Normalverbrauchsabgabe) is the outbound shipment of a vehicle. End-of-life vehicles (hazardous waste) with total loss are not to be evaluated as vehicles anymore. The same applies to vehicles for which a designated use in the country is not possible any longer (for example due to lack of reparability). In the case of an outbound shipment of end-of-life vehicles a reimbursement of the standard fuel consumption tax is thus not possible.

Legal bases

Expert information

Link to form

Registration is by electronic means via edm.gv.at (→ BMK)German text.

Entrepreneurs registered in the Business Service Portal USP have the possibility to use EDM and many other online proceduresGerman text with one single logging into the USP. More detailed information on registration in the USP is available in the online guidance on USP registrationGerman text.

Samples, templates and further documents in German and waste lists, sample contracts in English can be found on the website of the BMK.

Last update: 1 January 2024

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology

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