Digital obligation in the transboundary shipment of waste

Cross-border waste shipment is a complex process: many stakeholders, high documentation and control requirements, tight deadlines, and strict rules. Until now, much of this has been paper-based—accompanying forms, Annex VII (shipping information), and notification documents had to be printed, signed, and carried along.

But those days are coming to an end: the Waste Shipment Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 and the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1290 introduce a digital requirement at EU level. From May 21, 2026, all parties involved will be required to handle their processes exclusively electronically.

For companies that already carry out cross-border waste shipments, this means that they must prepare for a transition from paper forms to digital processes.

1. Status quo: Paper-based evidence and its limitations
2. The new legal situation: Waste Shipment Regulation (EU) 2024/1157
3. Article 27: The digital requirement
4. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1290: Technical rules for practice
5. ZEDAL International: Your solution for digital waste shipment
6. Conclusion: Starting early pays off
7. Next steps: How to prepare your company

The following already applies: Every shipment of waste must be carefully documented – regardless of whether it is a shipment subject to notification or a shipment with general information requirements.

• Waste subject to notification
  This involves a comprehensive approval procedure known as notification. An accompanying document for the transboundary shipment of waste is required for each individual shipment. The necessary forms (Annex 1A / Annex 1B / Article 15 – provisional shipment) are subject to reporting requirements to all competent authorities (export, transit, import) and the recipient or receiving facility (recipient facility).

• Waste not subject to notification
  Here, too, there is a documentation requirement. For each shipment, a form in accordance with Annex VII of the Regulation, known as the shipment information, must be carried.

Those who still organize cross-border waste shipments on paper face many hurdles: documents fill entire folders, the error rate is high, and archiving is tedious. Modern digital solutions clearly show that paper quickly reaches its limits in this complex process.

In addition to changes in content—such as longer archiving requirements (five years instead of three), new restrictions for certain types of waste, and mandatory audits of recipient facilities—the regulation contains one crucial point: Article 27—the digital requirement.

Article 27 of the Waste Shipment Regulation requires all parties involved to conduct their processes exclusively electronically from May 21, 2026. This includes:

• Notifying party
• Person initiating the shipment
• Waste producer
• Carrier/transport company
• Recipient
• Waste receiving facility (recipient facility)
• Competent authorities at the place of dispatch, transit, and destination
• In addition, authorities involved in controls such as BALM/BAG or customs

The digital requirement applies to all forms of cross-border shipments (including notifications, consignment notes, provisional recovery and disposal, Annex VII documents). Information, documents, and official decisions must be transmitted and exchanged electronically from the effective date. Paper forms will be completely eliminated—all processes will run digitally via the central EU system or interoperable systems and software connected to it. Parties involved in cross-border waste shipments must adapt their internal processes to the new electronic requirements.

Although the changeover is a challenge, it offers considerable advantages: faster approvals thanks to standardized data formats, fewer transmission and formal errors, legal certainty through automated checks and monitoring, greater transparency regarding waste streams, and noticeable efficiency gains in administration and documentation.

In order to specify the complex requirements of the digital obligation, the EU Commission has published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1290. This regulates the technical and organizational details:

• Central EU system (Digital Waste Shipment System, DIWASS for short)
  All national systems and private-sector solutions must be connected to the central IT system provided by the EU Commission.

• Interoperability
  Both the local systems operated by the competent authorities and the software solutions used by companies must communicate with DIWASS via standardized interfaces. ZEDAL International ensures this interoperability – and uniquely offers a reliable connection for authorities as well as for all economic operators.

• Data formats and protocols
  Uniform specifications for transmission, security, and traceability.

The digital requirement for cross-border waste shipments affects everyone—producers, notifiers, transport companies, recipient facilities, and authorities.

• It will be binding from May 21, 2026.
• It applies equally to notification documents, consignment notes (Annex 1A/1B), and Annex VII.
• It fundamentally changes processes – from application and implementation to archiving.

 Those who act early will reap the benefits:

• Your team will be ready for the 2026 digital requirement in good time.
• You will have planning security for your cross-border waste shipments.
• Stable supply chains without delays or failures can be guaranteed.
• You avoid production downtime and prevent economic damage.
• Automated processes can reduce effort by up to 50%.

With ZEDAL International, you are optimally prepared – and can use the changeover not only as an obligation, but as an opportunity to modernize your waste processes.