Delays in the rollout of the EU’s DIWASS digital system are prompting consideration of a temporary dual regime for waste shipments. The European Commission is assessing the possibility of allowing paper-based or alternative documentation for Annex VII procedures. Industry stakeholders warn that without a transition period, the shift to digital could disrupt cross-border waste flows and recycling value chains
Allowing the use of paper forms – or alternative solutions such as email and fax – to accompany shipments of non-hazardous waste destined for recovery between Member States. At least until the end of the year, in the hope that by then the new DIWASS IT system will be fully operational. This solution closely resembles the Italian-style ‘dual regime’ already applied to waste consignment notes, and is the one put forward by the technical working group convened by the European Commission to assess the state of implementation of the telematic portal for managing requirements related to transboundary waste shipments, as provided for under the new EU regulation on waste shipments.
The system is expected to be launched across the EU on 21 May but, according to what Ricicla.tv has learned, discussions between Brussels officials, Member State delegates and representatives of industry and the waste management sector have revealed significant delays in implementation, with possible repercussions on waste shipments within the Union. Hence the proposal for a dual paper-digital regime, at least for Annex VII, namely the document accompanying shipments of waste destined for recovery included in the so-called “green list”. For the time being, however, the obligation remains to manage through DIWASS all procedures requiring prior notification and authorisation.
The launch of the new European platform is approaching amid considerable uncertainty. In recent days, 13 industry associations wrote to the European Commissioner for Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, requesting a transitional period of at least one year. According to the signatories, “the implementing rules for DIWASS were adopted only in July 2025, the key technical documentation for system integration was published only at the end of January 2026, the user interface is not yet operational and the pre-registration of the thousands of operators concerned has not yet begun”.
In addition, interoperability functions between the European portal and the IT systems of the various competent authorities at national level, as well as those with the waste management software used by individual companies, still need to be developed. In this scenario, a forced transition to digital risks becoming a bottleneck that could “compromise the functioning of several industrial value chains”, as Fead Secretary General Paolo Campanella told Ricicla.tv. Hence the EU’s openness to allowing the use of alternatives to DIWASS, at least for shipments of waste in the “green list”, in order to ensure continuity of recovery and recycling operations. The problem remains for all other waste streams subject to the so-called PIC procedure, such as hazardous waste or mixed fractions that are not sufficiently sorted. The issue, European sources told Ricicla.tv, “is still on the table”.
