Instructions for waste importers
Who can import waste?
The procedures laid down in the regulation on shipments of waste include the notification procedure (waste shipment permit) and the so-called green shipment procedure. In both of these, the importer (consignee) of the waste is usually the waste-processing facility or the headquarters of the company concerned. An operator registered as a waste broker in the waste management register may also act as an importer of waste in Finland.
According to the regulation on shipments of waste, the waste importer must be under the jurisdiction of the receiving country. In Finland, this means that the importer of waste can be a company that is established in Finland and engages in continuous business or professional activities from a Finnish establishment and has a Finnish business ID.
The waste exporter is responsible for ensuring that the waste shipment complies with the procedures laid down in the regulation on shipments of waste and, where necessary, for applying for a waste shipment permit.
Import of waste requiring a waste shipment permit
In the case of shipments of waste requiring a waste shipment permit, the waste importer and/or treatment facility shall have the following obligations:
- the importer (consignee) signs an agreement under the regulation on shipments of waste with the waste exporter (notifier). The agreement is attached to the permit application. If the importer is not a processing facility, e.g. a broker, the processing facility will also sign the agreement.
- the importer or treatment facility provides information on the treatment of waste for the permit process (e.g. waste processing data and environmental permit for operation)
- the importing broker submits a certificate of waste management registration for the permit process
- the processing facility receiving the waste sends information on the receipt and treatment of the waste batch to the authorities and the waste exporter (notifier). As a rule, Finnish recipients of waste report the information through the electronic service.
- if the waste is brought for interim operation, such as storage or sorting, the facility responsible for the interim operation is obliged to provide certificates of subsequent treatment. The information shall be provided to the notifier and the authorities by completing Annex 1 to the EU Correpondents’ Guideline No. 3 (CG 3 Annex 1).
- the documents relating to shipments of waste shall be preserved by both the importer and the broker for a period of three years from the starting date of the shipment.
Imports via port or warehouse
As a rule, a warehouse is considered a so-called interim opreation facility, in which case it also fulfils the importer's and/or processing facility's obligations related to the waste shipment. The operator must be authorised to store the waste in question.
If the import involves storage in a port after the unloading of the ship cargo before the waste is shipped to the treatment facility, it must be determined whether the short-term storage is considered part of the transport or whether the port will act as the recipient of the waste in the waste shipment.
Import of green list waste
A procedure more streamlined than the permit procedure is followed when importing so-called green waste for recovery. The importer and/or the recovery facility shall have the following obligations:
- the waste importer signs an agreement under the regulation on shipments of waste with the person arranging the shipment (exporter)
- the recovery facility fills in the movement document accompanying the so-called green shipments with information on the receipt of waste
- all documents related to the shipment shall be preserved by the importer and the recovery facility for at least three years from the starting date of the shipment. The documents must be presented to the supervisory authority upon request.
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.