Guidance

Moving waste between Great Britain and Northern Ireland

What you must do to notify waste moving between GB and NI under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Environment Agency
Published
31 December 2020

This guidance was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn because it’s out of date.

You can read about how to dispose of business or commercial waste.

Waste shipments from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

The EU Regulation on Waste Shipments will continue to apply in Northern Ireland (NI) for the duration of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

This means that if you transport waste from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) to NI you will need to comply with the EU waste shipment controls. These controls include the system of:

  • prior informed consent for notifiable waste
  • green list controls for non-notifiable waste

Legislation to bring these controls into force was laid in the UK parliament on 17 December 2020. We will publish guidance on this page, about when these controls will come into force.

Until the new controls start, if you move waste within the UK you must continue to meet your waste management responsibilities.

What you will need to do under the new arrangements

When these controls come into force, if you move waste from GB to NI you must complete movement documentation depending on what the waste material is.

The controls that apply to your waste shipment will depend on the:

  • treatment planned for the waste when it reaches its destination
  • waste type

Knowing this information will allow you to decide if your waste shipment:

  • is allowed
  • needs notification and consent from the competent authorities - also known as notification controls
  • can occur under Article 18 controls - also known as Green List controls

Read more about notification controls and Article 18 controls.

For any questions on the new arrangements for waste moving from GB to NI contact: WasteMovements@defra.gov.uk

For information on the notification procedure email the component authority for the site of dispatch:

Waste shipments from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

Waste moving from NI to GB will not be subject to waste shipment controls.

If you move waste from NI to GB you must continue to meet your waste management responsibilities.

Updates to this page

Published 31 December 2020

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