Waste transport permit in Luxembourg - what are the penalties for not having one?
Luxembourg is often overlooked when planning waste transport routes. However, when drivers decide to enter this country with waste, they are often unaware of the regulations in force there. Or perhaps they count on luck and that they will manage to sneak through unnoticed. We invite you to read an article in which we present the consequences of such thinking and prove that a waste transport permit in Luxembourg could prevent any of the situations cited.
In our previous article, we briefly characterised Luxembourg as a promising direction for waste transport. We mentioned that the country both imports and exports large quantities of this type of material, learning from the experience of neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, like the aforementioned countries, it has to deal with attempts to illegally transport waste. As we will see in a moment, companies that have decided to do this have quickly regretted their decision.
Contact for a permit to transport waste to/from Luxembourg:
e.nadolna@ekologistyka24.pl , +48 881 045 376
j.blazewicz@ekologistyka24.pl , +48 500 867 153
No waste transport permit in Luxembourg?
The Luxembourg authorities take environmental protection extremely seriously. Relevant inspections are regularly carried out, such as the one in 2022. At that time, twelve strategically selected sites were carried out more than half a thousand controls. As a result, it emerged that of the 165 lorries seized at the time, transporting waste, almost half were not licensed to carry this type of material.
As a result, the fines imposed at the time totalled almost €12,000.
Operation Demeter IX
In October 2023, Luxembourg participated in the Operation Demeter IX, a coordinated action by the World Customs Organisation (WCO). It was aimed at combating illegal shipments of waste and ozone-depleting substances. A record 106 customs administrations around the world took part in the operation. As a result, 338 violations were detected.
In Luxembourg alone, the operation involved the inspection of 124 vehicles involved in cross-border waste transport. The Luxembourg Environmental Protection Agency and the Customs and Excise Administration carried out inspections at several locations, including major motorways and border points. At that time, 49 vehicles were found to have at least one infringement. A total of 79 offences were recorded. These problems included missing documents and lack of required transport permits.
"Thanks" to this operation, the fraudulent companies left thousands of euros in penalties in Luxembourg that they had to pay. And all they had to do was take a moment to apply for the necessary document. Unfortunately, haste is the worst adviser.
Cooperation pays off
The cooperation between Luxembourg and France had a similar effect to that described above. In one day alone, on 19 April this year, 203 vehicles were checked during controls at the Franco-Luxembourg border. On Luxembourg territory, fines were issued to seven drivers who did not have permits to transport waste. Each of them had to pay €250. On the French side, one driver was fined €150 for illegally transporting waste.
It may seem that these are small amounts of money and that for such low fines it is possible to take a risk. It is just that the price for such a decision can be much higher. A company's damaged reputation cannot be restored so easily. And when the company's image suffers, fewer orders and contracts will follow, financial inefficiency and, ultimately, bankruptcy. A gloomy vision, isn't it? However, for many companies it is as real as possible.
The examples cited above clearly show that greed and haste are not the best motivation to ignore regulations. It is better to take the time to prepare a waste transport permit in Luxembourg so that you can sleep soundly and not worry about 'what ifs'.
