Transfrontier Shipments of Waste: a Bureaucrat's Dream?

The new Annex V to the European Shipments Regulation, introduced by Regulation 2408/98, governs the ban on exports of waste to non-OECD countries, and uses three systems for classifying waste: the Basel Convention, the OECD Control System and the hazardous waste list under the Hazardous Waste Directive (Council Directive 91/689/EEC). Annex V exposes the weaknesses in a system riddled with cross reference and contradiction. "Waste" for the purposes of Annex V, will be banned if "it displays any of the properties listed in Annex III to Directive 91/689/EEC taking into account as regards H3 to H8 of the said Annex, the limit values laid down in Decision 94/ 904/EC as provided for in Article 1(4) second indent of Directive 91/689/EEC and in the header of Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 259/93". Although the Basel ban has been implemented by European legislation it has not yet been brought into force at an international level. In this article, the evolution of the European and international systems for shipments of waste are discussed, uncovering a legislative maze.