Latest developments in EU waste legislation

 

European end of waste criteria on the way

The notion 'end of waste' was introduced in the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste, issued by the European Commission in 2005. The idea is to clarify, at the EU level, under which circumstances waste ceases to be waste and becomes a material that can be traded freely on the internal market. The revised EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) sets out the framework conditions for developing end of waste criteria.

End of waste criteria can contribute to:

• the improved functioning of the internal market (currently the trade in recycled materials is hampered by the existence of different national regulatory approaches in the EU member states),
• increased investments in the development of recycling capacity by taking away legal uncertainty on the waste status of materials,
• the removal of the administrative burdens associated with waste legislation,
• an improved image for recycled materials, -the improved quality of recycled materials through imposing technical and environmental minimum standards.

A general methodology for the establishment of end of waste criteria has been developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and accepted by the EU member states. This methodology stipulates that end of waste criteria can refer to:

• the input material,
• the waste treatment process,
• the quality of the recycled material,
• quality control procedures that guarantee the fulfilment of conditions on input, processing and product quality,
• labels indicating for which applications the recycled material can be used.

The following procedure will be followed when developing European end of waste criteria:

• On the basis of an analysis of information on relevant material flows, potential uses of the secondary material, treatment processes applied and relevant national and international legislation in place, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission drafts a proposal for end of waste criteria for a specific waste stream. The drafting process takes place under the guidance of an expert group consisting of representatives from member state authorities, industry and academia.
• Next, the proposal for end of waste criteria is adopted formally via comitology.

The waste streams for which European end of waste criteria will be developed as a matter of priority are scrap from iron, steel and aluminium, glass and paper. This selection was guided by the following considerations:

• is the waste stream important enough (quantity generated, geographical coverage in the EU, market price, market value, international trade),
• can recycling of the waste stream be improved by the introduction of end of waste criteria,
• can the waste stream be used as a substitute for primary raw materials,
• can energy consumption and CO2 emissions be reduced by recycling of the waste stream,
• do standards or specifications already exist to ensure a certain quality of the material,
• is there evidence of legal disputes on the end of waste status of the material.

The OVAM will participate actively in the process of establishing European end of waste criteria.