A one-year extension for the LIFE SMART Waste project has been approved by the European Commission. The extension, up to 31 May 2020, offers the LIFE SMART Waste project with an opportunity to investigate the threat of waste crime arising as a result of relatively recent waste import restrictions in international markets. It is envisaged that additional research, in collaboration with INTERPOL, would provide information on the scale and impact of the China waste import restrictions (from January 2018) on the European waste market, considering the impact of illegal disposal of waste streams within EU jurisdictions and the illegal export to non-OECD countries.
 
The extension was announced in the latest LIFE SMART Waste News. The newsletter also comes back on the report published by the project partners to provide a high level summary of the project’s progress, gives more details on the work of INTERPOL's Pollution Crime Working Group, and presents three new projects related to waste crime in which IMPEL (the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law) is involved. You can read the newsletter online or subscribe for it to receive the next issue in your mailbox.