MLAs express shock at one million tonnes of waste Northern Ireland sends overseas every year

Image released by Greenpeace UK of a waste dump at Karahan Kuyumcular, a village in the district of Seyhan, Adana Province, seen during an investigation into plastic waste that is dumped and burned in Turkey. New EU regulations which will apply in Northern Ireland will seek to prevent such dumping. Photo: Caner Guevera/Greenpeace/PA Wire

Amendments to an EU regulation on shipping waste will seek to make exports more environmentally friendly and reduce crime.

Stormont’s Windsor Framework scrutiny committee was discussing the proposed changes as part of its role in identifying what impact amendments to EU laws will have in Northern Ireland.

Waste shipping is a reserved matter for Westminster, controlled by DEFRA. However, the new regulations will have an impact on Northern Ireland, and it is unclear whether the province will be treated as part of the UK or EU for aspects of the new rules.

The purpose of the regulation is to bring in tighter regulations on the movement of waste – and there will be different rules for the movement of waste between member states and through ‘third countries’. Under the Windsor Framework, Great Britain is treated as a third country for goods imports – with Northern Ireland effectively part of the EU single market for goods.

The regulation will prohibit the export of waste to non-OECD countries unless those countries prove they can deal with it in a sustainable manner.

DAERA’s current assessment of the situation is that it will not have a significant impact on communities in Northern Ireland – one of the key thresholds required for operation of the Stormont Brake.

DAERA official Shane Doris said that there will be an impact on the Northern Ireland waste sector. He said “There is a significant volume of waste exported from Northern Ireland that falls under the remit of the regulation on the shipments of waste, In 2023 waste exports from Northern Ireland, outside of the UK, totalled just under one million tonnes”.

MLAs from the DUP and Sinn Fein expressed shock at the figure.

The regulations will also require Northern Ireland to implement a new EU tracking system. DAERA is seeking to make sure that a new UK scheme is “interoperable” with the EU system.

Mr Doris said the UK government has told DAERA that there may be “additional regulatory costs to Northern Ireland, depending on the outcome of negotiations and the requirement of the final regulation”.

It is understood that the UK government will also seek to ban such exports.

DUP MLAs asked for an inquiry into the matter over potential impact on local authorities and ratepayers from increased costs facing waste exporters. That was agreed by the committee.