Transboundary waste shipments

Different countries may have different requirements. There are common regulations within the EU, but newer member states may have transition regulations in place. OECD countries have common regulations.
A separate EC regulation regulates the export for recovery of waste subject to the consignment information requirement to countries that are not in the EU, EFTA or OECD but are parties to the Basel Convention. This applies, for example, to China which is not a member of the OECD. 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007

Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or IIIA to Regulation (in Swedish)

Read more on what applies if you intend to export to China in a summary from the agency in the Netherlands by clicking on the link below. Please note that Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 has not yet been updated based on China’s new regulations.

Chinese regulations on incoming waste

The regulations for shipments of waste for recovery are different to those applying to waste for disposal. You need to determine which code applies to the specific waste treatment in your case according to the EC waste shipments regulation. 

A special notification document is to be used, but before you fill it out, send an email to the Swedish EPA providing details on your waste. This is necessary in order to receive a notification number (also called an SE-number) which you will include on your notification document.

We will also verify that you and your company are the rightful “notifiers”, as only certain parties are entitled to be notifiers. The Swedish EPA determines this based on Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, Article 2.15.

• You must provide the following information in your email:
• A brief description of the waste: EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code (see Annex V, Part 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, how it originated and which hazardous components it contains, and preferably also the Basel Convention or OECD code.
• A brief description of what will happen to the waste at the recipient facility (e.g. disposal or recovery, and how this will be carried out).
• Who produced the waste and who is the rightful notifier
• Information on where in Sweden the waste will be dispatched from and at which port/bridge/road/border locality the waste will exit the country.
• Information on the country and the company the waste will be dispatched to
• Contact person, contact details and invoice address
• Submit the information to 
  
  

inutavfall@naturvardsverket.se

Once we have received your email containing the requested details, we will send the information you need to proceed with the notification process.

You will receive a template for the Notification Document Annex IA and Movement Document Annex IB. You will also receive a 6-digit notification number (called “SE number”), for example SE 220001. This is the number you will include in the Notification Document and Movement Document and in all correspondence with the Swedish EPA and other authorities regarding the shipment notification.

Fill out the entire template for the notification document (Annex 1A) and sign it. Also, fill out the template for the movement document (Annex 1B) but do not sign it. 

The following documents should be included and submitted along with the notification/movement documents:

• A separate waste contract.
• Original of a financial guarantee document.
• A general description of the origin of the waste and how the waste will be treated/processed in the recipient country.
• A description of the transport routes (customs offices for export and import and routes between the export and import points).
• Proof that the carriers you are using have permits or are registered for waste transportation with the county administrative board. You are responsible for ensuring the above, regardless of whether the carrier already has a permit or is registered in another EU country.

You also need to be prepared to provide information that may be required by authorities according to Annex II to the waste shipments regulation. It may, for example, be the case that a treatment/processing facility has a permit for its operations or a certificate confirming that the carriers have permits to transport the waste.

The Swedish EPA has produced a contract template to facilitate the waste shipment process for operators. The required contents of the contract are described in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006. 

The contract is to be submitted along with the shipment notification. It must be signed by the notifier and recipient, as well as by the disposal or recovery facility to which the waste will be shipped. The contract must already be signed and in effect when  notification is submitted and be valid until confirmation of completion of the waste disposal or recovery is sent to the Swedish EPA.

It is important to know if the waste will be processed in any way before it is recovered or disposed of (at a so-called interim facility). If this is the case, the interim facility must also sign the contract. If the waste is to be shipped to a third country, i.e. a country outside the EU, the contract must contain additional information. 

Sample contract – English (doc. 51 KB)

The Swedish EPA charges a fee of SEK 10,700 to review your notification submission. We will send you an invoice once the notification documents have been received.

Agencies in the other countries indicated in your notification will also charge a reviewing fee. Invoices must be paid as soon as possible. The Swedish EPA applies the 30-day payment rule.

Start working on your notification well in advance of the date you intend to initiate the waste shipment. It may, for example, take a while to obtain a financial guarantee. The Swedish EPA and other agencies also need time to process notification submissions.

The Swedish EPA and the other agencies relevant to your waste notification process have the right to deny your request to export of waste from Sweden if you:

• do not meet the regulatory requirements;
• do not provide your information in a timely manner; or
• do not provide accurate information.

We require that you submit your notification and all accompanying documents together in the same period of time. It saves time for you as the notifier and us as the reviewing agency if all the documents are submitted at one time.

The signed notification document and the original of a financial guarantee document should be sent to us as hard copy. Use the address below. The other documents can be sent to us via the e-mail address inutavfall@naturvardsverker.se or sent as hard copies.

Our postal adress:

Naturvårdsverket
BOX 690 831 27 Östersund
Sweden

The Swedish EPA processes notification submissions in the order in which they are received. We cannot prioritise among notifications.

The Swedish EPA’s processing time for waste shipments within the EU or OECD is no more than 30 days from the date the authority in the recipient country has confirmed that the notification process has been completed.

The less supplemental information we need to request, the faster we can give you a decision on your waste shipment.

You will either receive approval for your shipment or an objection to it. The Swedish EPA’s decision in Sweden can be appealed with the Land and Environmental Court within Nacka District Court. Information on where you can appeal a decision in another country will be provided with that country’s decision.