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IPA joins European industry call to facilitate intra-EU waste shipments for recycling

Joint statement supports the European Commission’s green-listing initiative and calls for clear and consistent implementation

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) has joined seven other European industry associations in supporting the European Commission’s initiative to facilitate shipments of certain non-hazardous waste destined for recycling within the EU.

In a joint industry statement, the associations welcome the draft Delegated Regulation amending the waste lists under Regulation (EU) 2024/1157. The proposal would allow eligible waste streams to be shipped under the general information requirements of Article 18, rather than through the more burdensome prior written notification and consent procedure.

Strengthening European recycling value chains

European recycling value chains frequently extend across national borders and involve several successive stages, including collection, sorting, dismantling, pre-treatment, smelting and refining. Efficient and predictable intra-EU shipments are therefore essential to connect waste streams with specialised recycling and recovery capacity.

The proposed green-listing of suitable non-hazardous waste could reduce administrative burdens, improve access to recycling facilities and support the recovery of valuable secondary raw materials, including critical and strategic raw materials. It would also help strengthen the EU internal market, Europe’s strategic autonomy and the competitiveness and resilience of its recycling industries.

The signatories particularly welcome proposed entries covering certain non-hazardous metal waste from building, construction and demolition activities; non-hazardous electrical and electronic waste; permanent magnets from end-of-life products; and metal waste from end-of-life vehicles.

Recommendations for legal certainty

To support consistent implementation across EU Member States, the associations recommend that the final Regulation:

  • expands entry BEU07 to explicitly include additional non-hazardous metal waste from building, construction and demolition activities, including copper pipes and cables;

  • provides a non-exhaustive and non-prescriptive list of illustrative waste streams and fractions covered by BEU09, helping operators and authorities distinguish this entry from EU49; and

  • clarifies the scope and practical application of EU49, including the distinction between EU49 and BEU09.

These clarifications would reduce the risk of divergent interpretations, unnecessary delays and shipments being rejected at borders, while giving compliant operators the regulatory certainty needed to plan and invest.

The joint statement concludes that the draft Delegated Regulation represents an important first step. Further measures will nevertheless be required through the forthcoming Circular Economy Act to facilitate intra-EU waste shipments and establish a more effective single market for secondary raw materials.

Alongside IPA, the statement is signed by the International Copper Association Europe, European Metals, the European Precious Metals Federation, the European Electronics Recyclers Association, the European Steel Association, the European Waste Management Association and Recycling Europe.

Download the full joint industry statement: “Green-Listing Waste Shipments to Strengthen Europe’s Circular Economy”.