Waste: Exports
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will reinstate the insistence on digital Annex VII prior to shipment and the insistence on geo-tagged location evidence of individual container shipments reaching their nominated end destination as set out in the reforms announced by the Environment Agency in August 2025.
Answered by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Environment Agency's (EA) enhanced compliance checks found no evidence of widespread diversion to illegal pyrolysis. As a result, it does not currently require digital Annex VII documentation or geo-tagged proof of arrival for every shipment.
The EA regulates waste shipments using an intelligence-led, risk-based approach. It may require digital Annex VII documentation, geo-tagged evidence of arrival, or other supporting information from individual operators where risk assessments or compliance concerns indicate that enhanced scrutiny is necessary.
The EA keeps its regulatory controls under review and will continue to assess whether additional measures are required to ensure compliance with waste shipment controls, while maintaining a proportionate and effective approach to regulation.
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