Since 21 May 2026, cross-border waste movements in the EU run under the new Regulation (EU) 2024/1157: procedures go through the digital system DIWASS, exports of waste for disposal are banned outright, and exports for recovery outside the OECD face real scrutiny. For feedstock trade the regulation matters in three places. First, the waste-or-product question: if your stream is legally waste, the shipment regime applies in full; if it is a product with a specification and a buyer, it does not -- and that classification is a paperwork question before it is a chemistry one. Second, the green list: most clean, single-stream recyclables (including typical used cooking oil movements) move under green-listed procedures, which are lighter than full notification but still documented -- and since May 2026, digitally. Third, plastics: the Basel amendments and the new regulation together make mixed, contaminated plastic exports to non-OECD countries effectively impossible, which is why European mixed plastic now sells to European buyers.
- 1Stream classified: waste or product
- 2Waste-list entry decides the procedure
- 3Green list, or full notification and consent
- 4Digital procedures through DIWASS
- 5Movement documents follow the cargo
The friction of a cross-border feedstock move is decided at the classification step: product moves freely, green-listed waste moves documented, notification waste moves slowly -- and disposal exports do not move at all.
What changed and when
The regulation entered into force in May 2024 and displaced the old shipment regulation in stages; the main body applies since 21 May 2026. If you last looked at waste shipment law before that date, three things moved:
- Everything digital. Notifications and consent procedures run through DIWASS, the EU's digital waste shipment system; paper-based procedures belong to the past.
- Disposal exports banned. Shipping waste for disposal across borders is prohibited except narrow exceptional cases -- recovery is the only generally exportable purpose.
- Export controls tightened. Recovery exports outside the OECD face stricter conditions, with the plastic waste rules (Basel-aligned) the strictest of all for mixed and contaminated streams.
Where your stream sits
The practical map for feedstock people, in order of friction:
| Product | Not waste at law: specification, buyer, purpose. No shipment-regime notification -- but be prepared to defend the classification with paperwork. |
|---|---|
| Green-listed waste (Annex III) | Clean, single-stream recyclables: typical UCO, sorted metals, single-polymer plastics. Documented movement, lighter procedure, digital since May 2026. |
| Notification waste (Annex IV) | Mixed or contaminated streams: prior written notification and consent from every authority on the route, movement documents, financial guarantees. |
| Banned or effectively banned | Waste for disposal (banned), mixed/contaminated plastics to non-OECD (effectively banned), exports to facilities that cannot demonstrate environmentally sound management. |
What this means in practice
Know your entry. The waste-list entry your stream moves under decides the procedure. Sellers who let buyers guess the classification pay for it in discount and delay.
Get digital-ready. Counterparties and authorities work through DIWASS now; brokers and logistics partners who cannot operate in that system cannot move notification waste for you.
Document the waste-to-product line. The most valuable single question in this trade -- is my material still waste -- is answered by records: when it became waste, what was done to it, under what specification it now sells.
Plan plastics realistically. European mixed plastic waste has a European buyer list; budget for that reality rather than an export fantasy.
Frequently asked questions
Does the regulation apply to used cooking oil?
UCO is waste when discarded, and cross-border movements fall under the shipment regime -- typically the green-listed procedure for clean streams, with documentation and the digital route since May 2026. Within-country collection is national waste law instead.
My material is processed and has a buyer -- is it still waste?
That is the by-product versus waste question, and it turns on classification and paperwork rather than chemistry: certainty about the waste status, a market, and lawful use. If it qualifies as a product, the shipment regime does not apply -- but expect counterparties and authorities to test the file.
What is DIWASS in one sentence?
The EU's digital waste shipment system, mandatory for the procedures under the new rules since 21 May 2026 -- the place where notifications, consents and movement documents now live.
Can we still export waste plastics outside the EU?
For mixed and contaminated plastic waste to non-OECD countries, effectively no: the Basel-aligned rules require near-clean, single-polymer streams for export and the rest must stay in the OECD. That is precisely why European chemical recyclers now compete for European mixed feedstock.
Market news
Recent headlines from across the feedstock and renewable fuel sector. Nothing specific to this market has come through the wires lately, so this is the wider view. The links go to the publisher; we do not host or edit their reporting, and a headline here is not our endorsement of it. Scroll for more.
- Singapore, Brazil move to build green fuel shipping corridor
- Auramarine builds business on marine fuel flexibility
- Stargate Hydrogen Strengthens Nordic Expansion with Petri Sarnes, Former Siemens Power Sector Director of FinBaltic region
- Econetix Adds New Biochar And Bamboo Project To Its Portfolio
- Open call for the second Circular Economy Awards for the Western Balkan region
- TFG Marine installs ISO-certified mass flow meters on two US Gulf bunker barges
- DNV flags ‘strong summer’ for alternative-fuelled vessel orders
- Everllence launches engine-supported air lubrication tech
- Continental Develops Tyre with More Than 40% Recycled Materials for EU Project
- Evaluating the Health Impact Assessment on the UK’s Tyre Recycling Sector
- Oiltraining’s Visser joins IBIA as new Training & Technical Advisor
- Global hydrogen fuel cell market to reach $13.1 billion by 2031, research finds
- OMV Petrom expands Its green hydrogen production capacity at the Petrobrazi refinery to 55 MW
- Innovation funding awarded for next phase of Northern Gas Networks hydrogen storage project
- Haffner targets deal for 12 biomass-to-hydrogen units in western US
- Alfa Laval selected as technology provider for electrolyzer cooling in one of Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen projects
- ABO Energy and the City of Oulu sign agreement to advance hydrogen plant zoning
- SK Innovation E&S and Deokyang Energen to build five combined hydrogen refueling stations in South Korea
18 headlines, updated automatically. Last refreshed .
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page, so you can check them yourself. Legislation is amended: always read the consolidated text on the date that matters to you.
Who to ask about Waste shipment rules
Just ask. Unsure whether your cargo is notification waste, green-listed or a product? Send the stream, the classification paperwork and the lane and we will tell you what it needs. You get Bart van den Brug on the other end, same working day, in English or Dutch, and across the team also in French, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Russian.
On how we work: on the feedstocks and fuels on this site we are a broker. We never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission on business that concludes. Additives are the one exception: those we also buy and sell for our own account, and we say in which capacity we are acting before you commit to anything. Either way you will hear it from us when the answer is no, or when your parcel is not ready for the conversation you want to have. A market read or a second opinion on a specification costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Happy to look at whatever you have, even if it is half an analysis and a question.
+31 6 115 83 448
bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Ask about Waste shipment rules
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Or e-mail us directly: bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Last reviewed 03 September 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.