The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in relation to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 259/93 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community and for the purpose of implementing Council Directive 75/442/EEC (as amended) (“the Waste Framework Directive”) in respect of imports and exports of waste.

The Council Regulation provides for a system of prior notification and authorization where a person intends to ship waste within, into or out of the Community. The Council Regulation requires member States to deal with a number of matters by means of their domestic legislation in relation to the operation of the new system. These Regulations deal with those matters in the United Kingdom; in particular—

(a) designate the authorities which are to be the competent authorities and the correspondent in the United Kingdom under the new system (regulations 3, 4 and 5);

(b) enable a competent authority of dispatch to require notifications of shipments of waste from their area to be routed through the authority rather than being sent to competent authorities by the notifier (regulation 6);

(c) require a certificate relating to financial guarantees and insurance to be obtained prior to shipments of waste entering or leaving the United Kingdom (regulation 7);

(d) confer powers on competent authorities to ensure that waste is returned to the United Kingdom or is recovered or disposed of where the authority is under an obligation to secure the return, recovery or disposal of the waste in accordance with the Council Regulation (regulations 8 and 9);

(e) confer powers on customs officers to detain shipments of waste to facilitate the exercise by the competent authorities of their functions under the Council Regulation (regulation 10);

(f) provide for the preparation of a waste management plan by the Secretary of State in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive and require competent authorities of dispatch and destination to object to shipments ofwaste in accordance with the plan (regulation 11);

(g) set out offences and penalties in relation to non-compliance with the Council Regulation or United Kingdom Regulations (regulations 12 to 15);

(h) confer power on the Secretary of State to require competent authorities to provide information to enable him to fulfil his functions under the Council Regulation (regulation 16);

(i) set out how certain notices given under the United Kingdom Regulations may be served (regulation 17);

(j) amend the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980 and the Pollution Control (Special Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981 to avoid an overlap between the control system under those Regulations and the new system under the Council Regulation (regulation 18);

(k) amend the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991 and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 to make the offences under regulation 12 prescribed offences under the 1991 Regulations and relevant offences under the 1994 Regulations (regulation 19);

(l) provide a transitional registration system for dealers and brokers to enable them to act as notifiers under the Council Regulation (regulation 20);

(m) revoke certain provisions which will be superseded on the coming into force of the new system (regulation 21).