In the case of transit through other countries, the countries of transit must also give their consent.

The cross-border import and export of waste is subject to national and international waste legislation.

The waste shipment law applicable in Germany is based on the European Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR). This regulation defines procedures and control regulations for the shipment of waste, which depend on the origin, destination, transport route, type of waste and the planned treatment of the waste at the destination. These regulations are supplemented by the national Waste Shipment Act (AbfVerbrG).

The governments decide on the permissibility of importing and exporting waste in Bavaria that requires a permit ("subject to notification"). In the case of an export of waste, the government in whose area the transportation of the waste begins is responsible. In the case of imports, the decisive factor is where the waste is to be treated, stored or deposited for the first time.

The competent licensing authority for mere transit through Germany is the Federal Environment Agency.

For waste that is listed in Annex IV of the above-mentioned European regulation "VVA" ("yellow waste list") or for waste that is not listed in any of the annexes, an authorization procedure(notification procedure) must be carried out beforehand. In the notification procedure, waste must be checked before the start of waste shipments and for each waste shipment. The exporter must apply to the competent authority of dispatch for the planned shipment of waste using the notification and movement document as well as other required documents.

Transboundary shipments of waste subject to notification are only permitted if the competent authorities at the place of dispatch (exporting country) and at the place of destination (importing country) have given their prior written consent. The authorities responsible for the transit (transit states) must at least have given their tacit consent. The consent of all authorities must be available to the applicant before such transportation can be carried out.

As a rule, written consent can be granted for one year.

If consents have been granted by the competent authorities for different periods, a shipment is only permitted for the period to which the consents of all authorities concur.

Waste on the so-called "Green List" (waste listed in Annexes III, IIIA and IIIB of the WSR) is subject to the general information obligations and can be shipped across borders within the EU without official approval, provided that this waste is recovered.

In this case, the shipment must be documented using the form in accordance with Annex VII of the WSR "Shipping information". The shipping information must accompany the shipment. This only applies if the supplementary provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 1418/2007 (export to non-OECD countries) do not stipulate otherwise.

In order to clarify questions about the procedure or the documents required for planned shipments, it is strongly recommended that you contact the competent authority (government) in advance.