Article 19 of the Saudi Waste Management Law

This article regulates the movement of waste across borders, without prejudice to the provisions of the relevant international agreements to which the Kingdom is a party. It contains five provisions:

1- Hazardous waste: importing it or bringing it into the Kingdom, its territorial waters, or the other maritime zones over which the Kingdom exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction under international law is prohibited without obtaining the license. The Implementing Regulations set the conditions.

2- Waste and recycled materials: the waste or recycled materials that the Center specifies may not be imported, exported, re-exported or transited without the license.

3- Non-new devices and products: non-new or recycled devices, equipment and products that the Center specifies and classifies as waste may not be imported, exported or recycled without the license. Not every used device is therefore subject to this provision, but only what the Center classifies as waste.

4- Treatment and disposal: safe disposal or treatment of what is mentioned in paragraphs (2) and (3) is as the Center specifies.

5- Fees: the Center's board of directors may propose collecting fees on the import, export and transit of waste, and submit this in accordance with the statutory procedures. According to the text, the board proposes and does not itself impose fees.

Under Article 1, the license is a written permission issued by the Center. Article 18 deals with the inability to deliver waste to its destination, and Article 20 allows the Minister to take precautionary measures.

Anyone who works in importing used equipment or exporting scrap is best advised to consult a lawyer who specializes in international trade and foreign investment or environmental laws.