UK Waste Export Shipment Rules

For a GB export you need notification and prior written consent whenever the waste can't use the green-list (Article 18) route. In practice that means any one of these: the waste has no Basel or OECD code ("not listed"); it is not a single green-listed entry or a listed mixture; it is hazardous or more than minimally contaminated; the destination is a non-OECD country whose response under Regulation 1418/2007 requires notification; or it is one of the few exports for disposal that the UK Plan allows.

Approach: I used GOV.UK's export guidance, the UK Plan and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation 2024/1157. The datasets do not hold the GB text of assimilated Regulation 1013/2006, and its Article 3 page on legislation.gov.uk would not open, so the statutory wording is not quoted.

The default rule (EU, EFTA and OECD destinations)

GOV.UK's guidance (GOV.UK) says:

• Green-list controls "generally apply to waste listed under a single entry in Annex III, IIIB or the mixtures of wastes listed in Annex IIIA".
• "Notification controls apply to all other wastes." Mainly that means hazardous Annex IV / amber-list entries, such as the OECD "A…" codes.
• You work out which applies from the waste code and its annex number in the consolidated waste list. Basel codes start with one letter (for example B3011); OECD codes start with two (for example AC300).

Triggers that move a waste to notification

1. Unlisted waste: "If there is no Basel or OECD code for your waste, you must describe it as 'not listed' and notification controls will apply."
2. Mixtures: a mixture is green-list only if Annex IIIA lists it. Any other mixture falls under "all other wastes".
3. Hazardous content: to use Article 18, the waste must "not contain hazardous waste".
4. Contamination: the waste must be "properly sorted before loading", meaning any contamination left is "so small as to be minimal". If more remains after sorting, "you may need to ship it under notification controls or it may be prohibited for export."
5. Non-OECD destinations:
   • Regulation 1418/2007, as amended, sets each country's controls for Annex III and IIIA wastes. The same green-list code can therefore need notification, or be banned, depending on the country.
   • Some Annex V wastes, "including hazardous waste and household waste", are prohibited from export.
   • "Notification controls apply to all other wastes."
6. Disposal: where one of the UK Plan exceptions allows an export for disposal, "notification controls always apply" (GOV.UK).

Waste-stream examples (from the previous answer)

• Plastics:
  • B3011 is green-list to EU and OECD countries.
  • Y48 needs notification for every destination.
  • AC300 needs notification and cannot go to non-OECD countries (GOV.UK plastics).
• WEEE: all WEEE shipped for recovery to EU or OECD countries "must" be notified, even when it is non-hazardous Y49 (GOV.UK WEEE).

How to check a specific waste

GOV.UK points to two tools: the waste export controls tool, which looks up the waste by code and destination, and the consolidated waste list.

Northern Ireland and EU-side comparison

Under the EU regime that Northern Ireland follows, green-list paperwork has become stricter. Under Article 18 of Regulation 2024/1157 ^[6]:

• The Annex VII information "shall" be made available electronically.
• The person who arranges the shipment "shall" complete Annex VII no later than two working days before the shipment starts.
• Only a permitted or registered waste recovery facility may receive the waste.
• A recovery contract with a take-back obligation is mandatory.

Article 3 of 2024/1157 defines a "mixture of wastes" as wastes listed in different entries of Annexes III, IIIA, IIIB and IV, or not classified under one single entry. Separated wastes in one shipment are not a mixture ^[7].

If you give me the waste code and destination country, I can work through the route for that shipment.

Sources: GOV.UK: Waste: export and import · GOV.UK: waste plastic · GOV.UK: WEEE

Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 replaced Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006. Most of it has applied since 21 May 2026, and some provisions start later: 21 November 2026 (the ban on exporting B3011 plastic waste to non-OECD countries) and 21 May 2027 (the general ban on non-OECD exports and mandatory audits of facilities that receive exported waste) ^[5]. The main changes are fully digital procedures, tighter rules on shipments within the EU for disposal, a new fast track for pre-consented facilities, much stricter export controls and stronger enforcement.

Approach: I read the text of Regulation 2024/1157 as published in the Official Journal and checked the Commission's waste-shipments pages for progress on implementation. This is the EU regime, so it does not change Great Britain's assimilated 1013/2006 (see the previous answers).

1. Repeal, transition and dates

• Repeal: 1013/2006 was repealed with effect from 20 May 2024, but its provisions "shall continue to apply until 21 May 2026". Two exceptions matter for exporters ^[8]:
  • Article 37 of the old regulation runs until 21 May 2027.
  • Regulation 1418/2007 (the country-by-country controls for non-OECD destinations) is repealed with effect from 21 May 2027.
• Notifications already in progress:
  • A notification acknowledged under the old regulation before 21 May 2026 stays under 1013/2006.
  • Treatment of waste consented under the old Article 9 must be completed within one year of 21 May 2026.
  • Shipments under general consents given under old Article 14(2) must be completed within three years of that date.
  • Old pre-consents expire no later than five years from 20 May 2024 ^[8].

2. Procedures within the EU

• Electronic exchange is mandatory:
  • Notifications, consents, movement information, Article 18 (green-list) information, receipt confirmations and certificates "shall be submitted and exchanged by electronic means". This goes through the Commission's central system hub, or through national systems that connect to it ^[9].
  • The Commission says its system, DIWASS, went live on 21 May 2026 (European Commission).
• Green-list (Article 18) shipments:
  • The Annex VII information "shall" be made available electronically, completed no later than two working days before the shipment starts.
  • The waste must go to a permitted or registered recovery facility.
  • A recovery contract with a take-back obligation is required ^[6].
• Consent decisions:
  • Authorities have 30 days from confirming that a notification is properly completed to consent, consent with conditions, object or refuse. They can refuse earlier where the Article 11 conditions are clearly not met.
  • Written consent covers no more than one year.
  • Treatment must be completed within one year of the facility receiving the waste ^[10].
• Shipments for disposal (new Article 11): authorities "shall not give their consent" unless all of the following conditions are met. The derogation in Article 11(2) for small annual quantities lifts conditions (a)(ii) and (iii) ^[11].
  • The notifier shows that the waste cannot be recovered, or cannot be disposed of in the country of generation, in a technically feasible and economically viable way.
  • The shipment follows the waste hierarchy and the proximity and self-sufficiency principles.
  • There is no conviction for illegal shipment in the previous 5 years.
  • The waste is not mixed municipal waste.
  • The Commission must adopt criteria for "technical feasibility and economic viability" by 21 May 2027.
• Pre-consented recovery facilities (Article 14):
  • Authorities decide on a request within 55 days.
  • A pre-consent is valid for 10 years and the facility is inspected at least once in that period.
  • Facilities that only carry out R13 are not eligible.
  • Notifications to pre-consented facilities get a 7-working-day decision limit.
  • General notifications to these facilities can be valid for 3 years ^[12].
• Financial guarantee (Article 7):
  • It must cover transport, treatment (including interim operations) and 90 days' storage.
  • For general notifications it may cover only part of the shipments.
  • The Commission is to assess whether a harmonised, risk-based method for calculating the amount is feasible ^[13].

3. Exports from the EU

• Non-OECD countries, non-hazardous waste (Article 40, from 21 May 2027):
  • Exports for recovery are prohibited, unless the destination country and the specific waste are on the Commission's list of authorised countries.
  • Listed exports may go only to licensed facilities.
  • B3011 plastic and non-Annex IX wastes need notification and consent ^[14][5].
  • The list was due by 21 November 2026, and countries had to apply by 21 February 2025 ^[15].
  • The Commission published a draft list on 18 September 2026. It received requests from 32 countries, and consultation ran until 16 October (European Commission news). That notice does not name the countries.
• Non-OECD countries, hazardous and other wastes (Article 39): export is prohibited for:
  • hazardous wastes;
  • green-list wastes contaminated enough to need notification;
  • waste containing POPs at or above the Annex IV limits of Regulation 2019/1021;
  • from 21 November 2026, B3011 plastic waste ^[16][5].
• OECD countries (Article 44):
  • B3011 plastic, Annex IIIB wastes and trial treatments now need notification and consent.
  • Laboratory-analysis samples need notification too, unless they are 25 kg or less and only the quantity needed, in which case Article 18 applies.
  • Facilities must confirm receipt within 3 working days ^[17].
  • The Commission monitors exports to OECD countries, with "specific scrutiny" of plastic waste. Where environmentally sound management is not shown, it can ban exports to a country by delegated act ^[18].
• Audits of receiving facilities (Article 46, from 21 May 2027):
  • Exporters "shall" ensure the destination facility has had an independent third-party audit within the previous two years against Annex X Part B.
  • Audits must be notified to a public Commission register.
  • Exporters must publish yearly how they comply.
  • If an audit shows a facility no longer complies, exports to it must stop immediately.
  • The notification must include evidence of the audit ^[19][17].

4. Enforcement

• Burden of proof: inspectors may require evidence that an item is not waste, including evidence that it works and is protected against damage in transit. They may also detain shipments. If the evidence is missing or insufficient, the shipment is treated as illegal. For exports, inspectors "shall require" the Article 46 audit evidence ^[20].
• Penalties: Member States must at least be able to impose fines, suspend or revoke authorisations, and exclude offenders from public procurement for a limited time ^[21].
• Commission powers: the Commission can inspect shipments itself where there is "sufficient suspicion" of an illegal shipment, with access to premises and the power to take samples ^[22].
• Enforcement group: a new EU waste shipment enforcement group coordinates enforcement between Member States ^[23].
• Review: the Commission must review the Regulation by 31 December 2035 ^[24].

Sources: European Commission: Waste shipments · European Commission: draft list of countries authorised to import EU waste (18 Sept 2026)