Editorial note

Regulation 259/93 regulates and prohibits shipments of all waste within, into and out of the Community, except for five categories of waste which are excluded from the application of the Regulation and certain wastes destined for recovery only and listed in Annex II (Article 1). The Regulation establishes rules to govern four situations: (1) shipments of waste between Member States; (2) the movement of wastes between Member States; (3) exports of wastes; and (4) imports of wastes. Additional rules govern transit.

The Regulation allows waste to be moved between Member States for disposal, subject to the rules governing prior notification and authorisation by national authorities (Articles 3–5) and the three general grounds on which a consignment may be stopped (Article 4(3)(a)–(c)). The shipment of waste for recovery listed in Annex III (amber waste) is subject to a system of prior notification and authorisation (Articles 6–8). Consignments of waste for recovery listed in Annex IV (red list) are generally subject to the same procedures as for the amber list (Article 10). The Regulation also provides for certain information requirements in the case of movement between Member States and via non-Member States (Articles 11–12).

The provisions on shipment between Member States (Title II), on common provisions (Title VII) and on other provisions (Title VIII) do not apply to shipments within a Member State, although Member States may decide, and are free, to apply these provisions (Article 13(1) and (4)).