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ADR – Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road

Informal Working Group on the Transport of Hazardous Waste

FEAD has been appointed since 2005 as recognized stakeholder by the RID/ADR/ADN Joint Meeting. From that date, the association has actively participated in the development of specific “waste rules” in the ADR.

On its autumn 2018 session, the RID Committee of Experts and the Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods approved the establishment of an Informal Working Group on the Transport of Hazardous Waste led by FEAD (ECE/TRANS/WP.15/AC.1/152).

In order to prepare the Informal Working Group, FEAD prepared and circulated a list of issues regarding the transport of hazardous waste. The list was accompanied by a working document including a summary of waste provisions of the ADR, a list of multilateral agreements and national derogations concerning the transport of hazardous waste.

Until now, 13 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom) have joined the working group. FEAD takes initiatives and leads the working group. Internally, FEAD carries out its work within the “Subcommittee ADR”. The Informal Working Group with the Member States has already met four times:

The 1st Informal Working Group meeting (02-03 April 2019, Brussels) proposed the list of issues to consider. The list was approved by the Joint Meeting in its autumn session (Geneva, 17-26 September 2019), with the request to add the carriage of used pressure receptacles such as aerosols and gas cartridges in bulk.

The 2nd Informal Working Group meeting (03-04 March 2020, Utrecht) dealt with the first 10 issues from the selected list. This resulted in the submission of 5 working documents, in view of amending the ADR in the autumn session of the Joint Meeting (14-18 September 2020).

Purpose of the 3rd Informal Working Group meeting (07 October 2020, Online) was mainly the fine-tuning of the documents discussed and supported during the Joint Meeting in September (Geneva & online, 14-18 September 2020).

At the 4th Informal Working Group meeting (19 November 2020, Online), principally two new issues (Issue 2.2: “transport of packaged waste – inner packagings packed together” and Issue 2.5: “chemical compatibility”) were addressed.

The 5th Informal Working Group meeting (15 and 16 June 2022, The Hague & online) agreed on the approach taken by FEAD on issues 2.2 (combined packaging) and 2.5 (chemical compatibility for single plastic packaging), according to which FEAD will submit a proposal to the JM, first in form of an INF document. Progress was also made on issue 5.2 and on the transport of asbestos in bulk, the latter of which will be further discussed in a dedicated meeting in November 2022.

The 6th Informal Working Group meeting (16 November 2022, Brussels & online) was dedicated to the carriage of asbestos waste in bulk. The IWG is working on a common solution in the ADR in view of the different national interpretations of the existing Special Provision 168.

The 7th Informal Working Group meeting (30 May 2023, Brussels & online) was dedicated to the packaging issues, chemical compatibility and combination packaging. The IWG discussed and fine-tuned the proposals to be submitted by FEAD to the autumn session of the Joint Meeting.

During the 8th Informal Working Group meeting (8 February 2024, Brussels & online), participants assessed the state of play of the original list of issues and defined the next priorities as well as the future scope of the work of the IWG. In addition, participants also discussed a possible revision of the rule of estimated quantities and the carriage of empty, uncleaned packaging. 

All relevant documents used during the informal working group meetings and generated during/after these meetings can be accessed below.

Meetings

8th Informal Working Group meeting

Past event
Brussels & online, February 8 2024

During the 8th Informal Working Group meeting (8 February 2024, Brussels & online), participants assessed the state of play of the original list of issues and define the next priorities. In addition, participants discussed the possible revision of the rule of estimated quantities and the carriage of empty, uncleaned packaging.

7th Informal Working Group meeting – packaging

Past event
Brussels & online, May 30 2023

The 7th Informal Working Group meeting took place on 30 May 2023 in Brussels and online. It was dedicated to the chemical compatibility of plastics packaging containing liquid waste and to the transport of waste in inner packagings packed together in an outer packaging. The IWG discussed and fine-tuned the proposals to be submitted by FEAD to the autumn session of the Joint Meeting.

4th Informal Working Group (Virtual)

Past event
Online (Microsoft Teams), November 19 2020

The Fourth Informal Working Group on ADR and waste took place online on 19 November 2020, 9h00-13h00.

3rd Informal Working Group (Virtual)

Past event
Online, October 7 2020

The Virtual Informal Working Group on ADR and waste took place online on the 7th of October 2020.

2nd Informal Working Group meeting

Past event
Utrecht, March 3 2020

The second meeting of the Informal Working Group dedicated to the Transport of (Hazardous) Waste took place in Utrecht at the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate – Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management – Graadt van Roggenweg 500, 3531 AH, Utrecht.

1st Informal Working Group meeting

Past event
Brussels, April 2 2019

On the 2nd and 3rd of April the first meeting of the Informal Working Group dedicated to the Transport of (Hazardous) Waste took place at the Buro & Design Center, Esplanade 1b.87, Office of go4circle on the 5th floor, 1020 BRUSSELS