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Major elements of the Waste Shipment Act
The AbfVerbrG contains provisions on the implementation of Regulation (EC) Number 1013/2006 on the shipment of waste. That EC regulation stipulates that the Member States shall provide for inspections of establishments, undertakings, brokers and dealers and for inspections of shipments of waste on all transport routes (road, rail, air, sea and inland waterways). In Germany, this obligation has been assigned to the respective competent authorities. The responsibility for the inspections on waste shipments and any additional measures following the inspections essentially lies with the federal states (Länder). They are supported in their task by federal authorities (customs authorities and the Federal Office for Goods Transport for inspections on roads). In addition, the federal states shall establish inspection plans in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) Number 1013/2006 (first one by 1 January 2017) which are to be reviewed and, if appropriate, updated at least every three years. Furthermore, the provisions of the Circular Economy Act on general monitoring must be implemented, and the relevant authorities may issue specific orders on an individual case basis.
The Waste Shipment Act also contains provisions governing regulatory fines and criminal offences. In addition to the provisions governing regulatory offences it contains the empowerment to issue an ordinance on fines in order to be able to react more quickly to any amendments to Regulation (EC) Number 1013/2006 and Regulation (EC) Number 1418/2007 on the export of non-hazardous waste to non-OECD countries. Furthermore, it contains sanction provisions for violations of Regulation (EC) 1013/2006. These provisions distinguish between criminal offences in cases of illegal shipments of hazardous waste and illegal shipments of non-hazardous waste.
Finally, the Waste Shipment Act contains the principle of self-sufficiency with regard to waste destined for disposal and for mixed municipal waste collected from private households in accordance with Regulation (EC) Number 1013/2006, certain procedural provisions for specifying and supplementing provisions of Regulation (EC) Number 1013/2006, stipulations relating to the take-back obligations and requirements for the marking of vehicles.