New Perspectives on the Definition of Waste in EC Law

Abstract

The definition of the concept of waste laid down in Directive 75/442/EEC on waste constitutes the keystone of all sectoral regulation on waste products, including the Community rules pertaining to the trans-frontier movement of waste. In order to evade the Caudine Forks of waste regulation, including the financial burden of waste transfer, some economic operators have not hesitated to qualify their residues as either products or byproducts. The European Community definition has thus been at the root of various controversies in different Member States where national authorities and public officials cross swords with business on the issue of whether such and such a product constitutes waste or not. This article will assess, in the light of a flurry of recent cases decided by the ECJ, a number of borderline cases. After a brief look at the circumstances relevant for the classification of an object as waste, the focus will shift to the criteria for distinguishing between wastes, products, raw materials and by-products. Against this background the relevance of these criteria will be tested in the light of more specific examples.