In the past there has been a lack of clear criteria in the European Union (EU) determining when a material recovered from waste ceases to be waste and can be dealt with as other products or as raw material. The first ‘end-of-waste' regulation adopted by the EU on March 31 establishes such criteria for iron and steel scrap and for aluminium scrap, and also aims to stimulate the European recycling markets.
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik commented, "We must start treating waste as a valuable resource, and the adoption today of these end-of-waste criteria for material streams will really boost our recycling industry and services. It marks another important step towards Europe's goal of becoming a resource-efficient economy and a recycling society."
According to a press release from the EU authorities, the new regulation will create legal certainty and a level playing field for the recycling industry, remove unnecessary administrative burdens from the recycling sector by releasing safe and clean secondary raw materials from the scope of waste legislation, and contribute to the raw materials supply of European industries. The lack of clear and harmonized criteria in the past resulted in a situation where some EU member states developed different and not always compatible frameworks for regulating recovered materials.
The regulation adopted on March 31 means clean and safe metal scrap does not have to be classified as waste provided producers apply a quality management system and demonstrate compliance with the criteria by a statement of conformity for each metal scrap consignment.
Any kind of treatment, like cutting, shredding, cleaning and de-pollution needed to prepare the scrap for the final use in steel or aluminium works or foundries has to be completed before the metal scrap can be released from waste status. For example, old cars have to be dismantled, fluids and hazardous compounds removed and the metal fraction treated in order to recover clean metal scrap which meets the end-of-waste criteria.
The establishment of end-of-waste criteria was introduced by the new EU Waste Framework Directive which aims to achieve much higher levels of recycling and minimize the extraction of additional natural resources. The long-term goal is to turn Europe into a recycling society: one which avoids waste and uses unavoidable waste as a resource wherever possible.