The European Union has set up a system for the supervision and control of shipments of waste within its borders and with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and third countries which are parties to the Basel Convention. This system has its own special rules for supervision and control of transfrontier shipments of waste for recovery and disposal, which are mainly regulated by Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste. This Regulation came into effect on 12 July 2007 and implements the Basel Convention into EC law. This Regulation includes the application by the Member States of a system of prior authorisation for the shipment of waste. The system draws a distinction between:
- waste for disposal (landfill or incineration) as defined in Schedule 4 to the Waste Management (Permit and Control) Regulations, 2001;
- waste for recovery (recycling) as defined in Schedule 6 to the Waste Management (Permit and Control) Regulations, 2001.
With regard to waste that is destined for recovery, a further distinction is made between:
- Non Hazardous Waste – “List B” waste, for example metal and metal-alloy wastes
- "Hazardous Waste – “List A” waste, for example asbestos waste
Waste on each of these lists is connected to a degree of overall environmental risk posed and therefore a particular control procedure. Shipment of non hazardous waste is considered to pose no environmental risk when moved within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for recovery waste. Shipment of hazardous waste poses high environmental risk. Therefore the control procedure for the hazardous waste known as the Written Notification Procedure is more stringent than the control procedure for non hazardous waste known as the General Information Procedure.