EPA Finalizes International Waste Shipment Rule

Date: June 20, 2016

Source: US EPA

This week the EPA sent a final rule to update the requirements for import and export shipments of hazardous waste to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for interagency review. The rule aims to streamline requirements for trans-boundary shipments and better track imports and exports of hazardous waste. It does so by harmonizing requirements among OECD nations, enabling electronic submittal of export- and import-related documents, and electronic validation of consent in the Automated Export System (AES) for Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) consent requirements. This follows a draft version of the rule issued last September. "When hazardous waste is shipped across multiple countries there can be a higher risk of mismanagement from unsafe transport, recycling and disposal practices," EPA waste chief Mathy Stanislaus said in a press release at that time. The rule will affect businesses that ship RCRA-regulated hazardous wastes, universal wastes, and special wastes such as batteries to a different country for recycling, reclamation, or disposal.

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