Guidance document On the definition and classification of hazardous waste
This document contains non-binding guidance regarding classification of hazardous waste in the framework of:
- Directive 2008/98/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directive (also referred to as the Waste Framework Directive or WFD) and;
- List of Waste 2000/532/EC
as amended by Commission Decision 2014/955/EU (also referred to as LoW).
The purpose of this document is to assist national authorities and economic operators with guidance on how to understand and apply the aforementioned legislation.
The content, including examples, reflects the views of Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission and as such is not legally binding.
The binding interpretation of EU legislation is the exclusive competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The views expressed in this guidance document cannot prejudge the position that the Commission might take before the CJEU.
It is the Member States’ task to enforce EU environmental law, and the enforcement practice may differ among Member States, depending on factual circumstances, administrative structures, regional or local conditions, or other reason.
In practical cases similar to the presented examples, other facts may occur that justify other decisions by the competent authorities.
Therefore, the examples are in no way construed as established decisions that Member States legislators or enforcement bodies are bound to take. In practical implementation and enforcement, specific circumstances and the context of the waste management situation, as well as the requirements of the legislation, will always need to be taken into account.
In the document, the European legislation in force at the time of writing, including all amendments, is taken as the basis.
Annex E contains a reference to the official name, the date of adoption and the source within the Official Journal of all cited legal acts, as well as a link to the corresponding entry at the EurLex website.
It should be noted that the legal acts may since have been amended or repealed.
Consolidated versions of the acts can be found via the entry at the EurLex website; information on the amending acts can be found within the EurLex entries under the section ‘Relationship between documents’.
08 June 2015 - Draft
European Commission