The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC introduced the concept of end-of-waste criteria, with the aim of supporting recycling markets in the EU by creating a level playing field and increasing legal certainty for all actors in the sector. According to Article 6 of this Directive, a waste substance or object may cease to be waste and be traded freely as a product when it has undergone a recovery, including recycling, operation and it meets a number of criteria. These criteria define the proper use and market conditions for the material and ensure that its use under the product regime will not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts.

Today, EU Regulations with end-of-waste criteria already exist for aluminium, iron & steel and copper scrap, as well as for glass cullet. Technical proposals have been developed by the European Commission for paper waste, biodegradable waste and waste plastics. In addition, studies were published on the impacts on the recycling markets from the first end-of-waste Regulation and on a methodology for setting pollutant limit values for aggregates derived from waste for use in a possible end-of-waste framework. The latter study focuses primarily on environmental risks and limit values associated with leaching of substances from aggregates.

This presentation will give a general overview of the end-of-waste work realized at EU level to date, before discussing the aggregate study in more detail.