According to the new statistics, around 8.6 million tonnes of hazardous and problematic waste were shipped across European boundaries in 2003, with over 90% of this shipped to other EU countries. Some 80% was for recovery and 20% for disposal. Total generation of hazardous waste was 55 million tonnes in 2003, and so the shipped volumes account for some 15%. This is seen as a sign that the EU is acting more and more as a single market in relation to the treatment of hazardous and problematic waste.

Paper, plastics and metals comprised the main flows of non-hazardous waste streams out of the EU in 2005, each totalling around 8 to 10 million tonnes. A large proportion was exported to Asia.

The quality and reliability of hazardous/problematic waste shipment data supplied to the EU Commission is not satisfactory, according to ETC/RWM, which is part of the European Environment Agency and aims to provide reliable and comparable data and information on resource and waste in Europe. The codes applied for reporting - the same as applied to the Basel Convention - are deemed to be too general to identify exactly what kind of waste is being shipped. In the opinion of the institute, if the codes from the European Waste List were used in reports to the EU Commission, this would provide a much better overview of shipments and would enable an evaluation of both the environmental and economic consequences of the shipments.

Economic factors appear to be the most important driver behind the shipments, it is concluded.

Acknowledgement

To download the report, visit: http://eea.eionet.europa.eu/Public/irc/eionet-circle/etc_waste/library?l=/working_papers/shipments290208pdf/_EN_1.0_&a=d