European recycling association EuRIC (Brussels / Belgium; www.euric-aisbl.eu), the European Electronics Recyclers Association (EERA, Arnhem / The Netherlands; www.eera-recyclers.com) and the WEEE Forum (www.weee-forum.org) are calling for procedures to ship waste within the EU to be sped up. In a joint statement, the co-signatories note that the EU guarantees the free movement of goods, services and persons. According to the EU regulation 1013/2006, or "Waste Shipments Regulation" (WSR), shipments of waste are required to be safe and traceable of waste, and there are also rules that ensure waste is properly treated at its final destination.

However, the EU regulation is implemented with varying enforcement rules across member states. As a result, there are often obstacles to transporting waste for recycling. EuRIC, the EERA and the WEEE Forum say the WSR need to be amended in order to ensure smoothly functioning EU waste markets as well as vital for achieving a circular economy. The European Commission's upcoming review of regulation 1013/2006 offers the opportunity to improve waste shipment processes – specifically harmonised and simplified rules and procedures. "It will create the conditions for a market in which secondary raw materials compete against primary raw materials which are allowed to move freely within the EU," says the joint statement.

EuRIC also supported the Norway proposal to revise the Basel Convention – see Plasteurope.com of 03.05.2019 – especially the objective to curb marine litter. It also believes improved controls in countries without adequate disposal systems are necessary, although is opposed to far-reaching export restrictions.

On 11 May 2019, around 180 governments amended the Basel Convention at the UN meeting in Geneva / Switzerland, and adopted decisions on a legally binding framework that includes more transparent and better regulated trade of plastics waste. Among other things, exporters of waste will have to obtain consent from countries receiving low-quality plastics waste. This especially is meant to protect developing countries that are handling a massive influx of waste.