Dispatch, reception and transport of waste batches
Obligations of the notifier and the recipientconsignee
- The notifier shall ensure that the permits of all authorities are valid and that the financial guarantee is accepted at the start of the shipment.
- The notifier and the consignee must follow the shipment document procedures.
- The contents of the shipment must not be mixed with other waste during transport.
- All documents relating to shipments of waste must be retained for three years.
Movement document procedure
The signed movement document (Annex IB) is attached to each shipment. In addition, copies of decisions made by all competent authorities must accompany each waste shipment. These shipment documents shall be retained by the receiving facility.
The Finnish Environment Institute and other relevant competent authorities will be informed of waste transport three times:
- Not later than three working days before the start of the shipment, the notifier shall submit a preliminary notification on the shipment of waste.
- Once the waste has been received at the receiving facility, the facility signs the movement document field 18 and declares that it has received the waste.
- Once the waste has been recovered or disposed of in the receiving facility, the facility signs the movement document field 19 and reports the waste treatment completed.
The preliminary notification of waste departing from Finland, the receipt of waste to be treated in Finland and the information on waste treatment are provided through the electronic waste shipment service (Finnish TFS system). Information on the system shall be communicated to the relevant competent authorities.
Alternatively, information on the start of the shipment, the receipt of the waste and its treatment may be provided by sending a copy of the signed movement document to all relevant competent authorities. Copies are sent to the Finnish Environment Institute at movementdocwasteshipments(at)syke.fi (indicate clearly on the e-mail message field the permit number and batch numbers of the consignments in question).
Notification of subsequent treatment
If the waste sent for interim operation is further processed in the receiving country, the authorities will be notified of the final treatment of the waste using the EU Correspondents' Guidelines CG No. 3 form Annex 1. If the waste is shipped to another country for turther treatement, either the notification procedure or the so-called green shipment procedure is followed.
Detailed instructions for notifying of shipments
Preliminary notification of waste shipment – notifier
- The notifier shall submit a preliminary notification on the shipment of waste no later than 3 working days before the intended date of departure of the shipment. As a rule, waste batches sent from Finland are reported via the electronic service (Finnish TFS system). Information on the preliminary notification is sent by e-mail to all relevant authorities and the recipient of the waste. Where necessary, the preliminary notification must be sent to the authority separately.
- The notifier prints out the movement document (Annex IB to the regulation on shipments of waste) from the system and signs it before the shipment leaves.
Batch shipment – waste producer
- The original movement document (Annex IB) signed by the notifier/waste producer is issued to the first carrier who signs section 8 of the form. The producer keeps a copy of the form signed by the carrier.
- Copies of the permit decisions issued by the authorities, which contain the notification documents and the necessary official entries, are issued to the carrier. The decisions may be issued electronically if they are available at all times.
Batch transport – waste carrier
- The first carrier must complete section 8(a) of the movement document (Annex IB), the mode of transport, the date of shipment and the signature (and, if applicable, section 16). If more than one carrier is involved in the transport of the waste, the other carriers shall fill in fields 8(b) and 8(c) of the form and any fields in an annex. Each driver keeps a copy of the movement document signed by the next carrier.
- In the case of non-EU shipments of waste, the carrier shall forward a copy of the movement document to the customs office of export and exit or entry into the Community.
Reception of waste – treatment facility
- The disposal/recovery facility confirms the receipt of the waste by filling in field 18 of the original form and provides the carrier with a copy of the signed form. The recipient of the waste must send a signed copy of the movement document to the notifier and the competent authorities of the countries concerned within three days of receipt of the waste. If the waste batch received does not correspond to the waste specified in the waste shipment permit and the waste batch must be rejected, the recipient must notify the waste shipment authorities without delay.
- Finnish processing facilities can confirm receipt through the Finnish TFS system. The system is also used by some foreign companies.
Waste reception – consignee (exceptional case)
- If the consignee (other than the processing facility) assumes responsibility for the shipment of waste upon arrival in the country of destination, the consignee fills in field 17 and, where appropriate, field 16.
Waste processing – treatment facility
- The disposal/recovery facility must dispose of or recover the waste no later than one year (365 days) from the receipt of the waste batch. A certificate of disposal or recovery of the waste batch shall be issued by filling in field 19 of the form. A signed copy of the movement document shall be sent to the notifier and to the competent authorities of the countries concerned no later than 30 days after completion of the operation concerned (but 365 within days of the receipt of the waste batch).
- Finnish treatment facilities can issue a certificate of treatment through the Finnish TFS system. The system is also used by some foreign companies.
- If the waste has been taken for interim operation (e.g. storage or sorting), the treatment facility also provides information on the final treatment of the waste. Information on the final recovery or disposal of the waste shall be provided no later than one year (365 days) after delivery of the waste for further processing. The information is sent to the notifier and the competent authorities of the countries concerned by Annex 1 to the EU Correspondents' Guidelines CG No. 3.
Obligations of carriers in transports requiring a waste shipment permit
Waste shipped under a waste shipment permit may only be transported by a carrier company approved in the waste shipment permit. A company transporting waste must always have a permit issued by an authority to transport the waste in question. The authorisation shall be presented to the supervisory authority upon request. In Finland, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) is in charge of registering carriers in the waste management register.
When a waste batch is accepted for transport, the carrier completes section 8(a) of the movement document (Annex IB), the method of transport, the date of shipment and the signature (and, where applicable, section 16). The notifier retains a copy of the signed document. The original movement document shall accompany the shipment from the point of departure to the point of receipt of the waste. If more than one carrier is involved in the transport of the waste, the other carriers shall fill in fields 8(b) and 8(c) of the form and any fields in an annex. Each driver keeps a copy of the movement document signed by the next carrier.
For non-EU shipments of waste, a copy of the movement document shall also be sent to the customs office of export and exit or entry into the Community.
Contacts for additional information
The Finnish Environment Institute is the competent authority for international waste shipments in Finland. For questions related to international waste shipments, please contact wasteshipments@syke.fi.
Other contact details are available on the Contact persons and information for waste shipments page.
More information
Obligations to the waste carrier and broker placed outside Finland
Acceptance of operation onto the waste management register (Suomi.fi)