There were 2,586 European waste export violations from 2018 to March 2020, according to the latest figures from the European regulators organisation, IMPEL. The regulators also highlighted that in terms of regulatory breaches overseas, 17% of shipments checked as destined for Africa violated the rules. In terms of material type export breaches, the worst category was for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
In its latest ‘SWEAP’ report, the organisation – which includes UK regulators as members – notes that 32,000 checks were carried out across 28 countries in Europe, of which 11,843 found waste to be in the shipment. SWEAP stands for the Shipment of Waste Enforcement Actions Project. More than a fifth of the waste inspection results (22%) found there were violations of the rules with shipments subject to export bans, while 34% were for breaches of national regulations, or missing, incomplete and incorrect notification.
IMPEL explains that the overall purpose of SWEAP (Shipment of Waste Enforcement Actions Project) is to support the circular economy by disrupting the illegal waste trade at the EU level, among others by increasing skill set amongst inspectors and law enforcement agencies. The organisation commented: “The inspections are considered the core of this project. They are performed at waste management sites and during waste shipments. They are coordinated Europe-wide, involve the ‘waste chain’ approach and focus on problematic waste streams and actors. Co-ordination of inspections are being completed through risk assessment and analysis of trends, patterns and nominal (criminal) activity.”
Source: Let’s Recycle
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