General notification and pre-consented facilities

In detail

The general notification

One general notification can cover several shipments if all three conditions are met Art. 13(1):

1. the wastes have essentially similar physical and chemical characteristics;
2. they go to the same consignee and the same facility;
3. the transit countries are the same, the routing is given in the notification document, and the shipments start from the same location.

Alternative routings for unforeseen circumstances can be given in an annex; the movement document then says which routing is used Art. 13(2). The authorities may ask for additional information Art. 13(3).

Pre-consented recovery facilities

• Whoever owns or controls a recovery facility can apply to the authority with jurisdiction over it for a pre-consent. Facilities that only carry out operation R13, storing waste pending recovery, cannot Art. 14(1).
• The application includes, among other things, the permits, the technology used, the R-codes, waste types and quantities compared to the permitted capacity, the activities of the last three years, and evidence of no conviction for illegal shipment or other waste offences in the five years before Art. 14(2).
• The authority decides within 55 days Art. 14(5). The pre-consent is valid for ten years unless stated otherwise; the facility is inspected at least once in that time Art. 14(9).

What a pre-consent brings

• The authorities decide on a notification to that facility within seven working days of the notice that it is complete Art. 14(14); if they need more time, never more than 30 days in total Art. 14(16).
• The deadlines for requests for information shrink to five and three working days Art. 14(15).
• A general notification to such a facility can be valid for three years instead of one Art. 14(12).

In Austria

Pre-consent applications have been possible since 21 May 2026. They run outside the electronic systems, directly with the BMLUK, department V/1 (waste and contaminated sites authority, waste shipments and land recycling), Stubenring 1, 1010 Vienna, abt-51@bmluk.gv.at. Once granted, the BMLUK enters the pre-consent in DIWASS. Pre-consents under the old rules expire on 20 May 2029 at the latest (lesson 1.2).