The European Commission has received requests from Nigeria and 23 other non-members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries seeking inclusion in the list of nations eligible to import non-hazardous waste from the European Union.
Non-hazardous waste, which makes up 95.6 percent of solid waste produced in Europe, includes municipal waste like packaging, clothing, bottles, and plastics, as well as demolition materials such as concrete, bricks, stones, and food waste.
This request was made under the new Waste Shipments Regulation, introduced as part of the EU’s Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. The regulation aims to impose stricter rules on the shipment of waste, including imports and exports between the EU and non-OECD countries. A significant provision of the regulation is the full ban on exporting plastic waste from the EU by November 2026.
To be eligible for importing non-hazardous waste, countries must demonstrate their capacity to manage these materials in an environmentally responsible way, with conditions that meet or exceed EU standards. The European Commission requires detailed information from applicants to assess their preparedness for this responsibility.
Countries that have submitted requests include Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, North Macedonia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Vietnam, in addition to Nigeria.
The European Commission will review these applications and create a list of approved countries by November 2026. Starting in May 2027, countries not included in this list will be prohibited from importing waste from the EU.
While countries that missed the February 2025 deadline can still submit requests, there is no guarantee their applications will be evaluated before the first list is finalized.
