On this page you will find the latest background information and statistics gathered by Eurostat about waste that is transferred between Member States, or exported from the EU to other parts of the world.
The Waste Shipment Regulation (WShipR) governs transboundary shipments of waste and requires all hazardous waste movements to be notified in advance to the authorities. Some non-hazardous types of waste are also covered. Member States report on the waste that is shipped across their borders.
There is a ban on exporting hazardous waste from OECD countries to non-OECD countries, due to their lack of waste treatment capacity. Where illegal shipments of waste take place, it is typically due to material, often hazardous, being sent to another EU country or to a developing country in order to save money on proper treatment.
For a clear description of the recent data and some historic trends, see a Statistics Explained article on Waste Shipments. Some of the key themes are summarised below.
