Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1997:506
Date: 1997-10-23
Language of the case: Dutch
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment;Approximation of laws;Waste
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment
1. Environment — Waste — Regulation No 259/93 on shipments of waste — 'Municipal/
household waste' referred to under point AD 160 of the amber list in Annex III — Mixed
waste — Included — Information mentioned in Article 11(1) — Whether required in the
absence of notification of a shipment — Illegal waste traffic — Obligations of the authorities
of the Member States of destination and of shipment — Scope
(Council Regulation No 259/93, Art. 11(1) and Annexes II and III)
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SUMMARY — CASE C-192/96
2. Environment — Waste — Directive 75/442, as amended by Directive 91/156 — 'Storage of
materials' within the meaning of point R 13 of Annex II B — Meaning — Scope
(Directive 75/442, as amended by Directive 91/156, Annex II B, point R 13)
1. The expression 'municipal/household
waste' referred to under point AD 160 of
the amber list in Annex III to Regulation
No 259/93 on the supervision and control
of shipments of waste within, into and
out of the European Community, as
amended by Decision 94/721 adapting,
pursuant to Article 42(3), Annexes II, III
and IV to Regulation No 259/93, includes
both waste which for the most part con­
sists of waste mentioned on the green list
in Annex II to that regulation, mixed
with other categories of waste appearing
on that list, and waste mentioned on the
green list mixed with a small quantity of
materials not referred to on that list. Such
mixed waste does not come within the
green list unless it has been collected
separately or properly sorted.
The information listed in Article 11(1) of
the regulation, which must accompany
shipments of waste intended for recovery
appearing in Annex II, constitutes the
minimum evidence which the competent
authority may, in the absence of notifica­
tion, require in order to establish that
'green waste' is intended for recovery.
In the case of shipments of waste which
have not been notified to all the compe­
tent authorities concerned (illegal traffic),
the Member State of destination may not
unilaterally return waste to the Member
State of dispatch without prior notifica­
tion to the latter; the Member State of
dispatch may not oppose its return where
the Member State of destination produces
a duly motivated request to that effect.
2. The reference to the storage of materials
in point R 13 of Annex II B to Directive
75/442 on waste, as amended by Directive
91/156, which lists waste recovery opera­
tions, covers not only cases in which stor­
age takes place in the undertaking in
which the other operations mentioned in
that annex must be carried out but also
cases in which storage precedes transport
to such an undertaking, regardless of
whether the latter is established inside or
outside the Community.
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