EU chemicals and waste laws must be harmonised, chemical recycling trade body says

European definitions for when recycled waste is considered a product again must be harmonised, because there is a “lack of alignment” between EU chemicals and waste legislation, according to a chemical recycling trade association. In a 2 June position paper, Chemical Recycling Europe (ChemRecEurope) called for “an urgent review and harmonisation” of end-of-waste legislation, because of the misalignment between the EU’s REACH Regulation and its waste framework Directive (WFD). European countries also have varying approaches and interpretations of end-of-waste procedures, it added.

Lack of alignment of these rules has been a stumbling block for the EU’s circular economy plan, creating confusion among operators on whether certain materials should be classified as products or waste, hazardous or non-hazardous, and which legislations they are subject to at what point. As part of its circular economy action plan in March, the Commission said it would improve the classification and management of hazardous waste to maintain clean recycling streams, “including through further alignment with the classification of chemical substances and mixtures where necessary.” ChemRecEurope called for “clear guidelines” that would resolve whether products produced by chemical recycling plants are considered waste or products – and the legislation with which they need to comply.

ChemRecEurope also wants “acknowledgement” from the EU that chemical recycling falls under the definition of recycling in the WFD. And the industry’s outputs should count towards the recycling targets countries must meet. “This recognition would provide long-term visibility to secure investments in chemical recycling technologies,” the trade association said. The definition of recycling under the WFD is “any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances, whether for the original or other purposes.” The definition does not include energy recovery or materials that are to be used as fuel, it says. ChemRecEurope’s proposed definition of chemical recycling, as cited in its position paper, also excludes energy recovery. But it includes technologies like pyrolysis, the most commonly used chemical recycling process to date, which can be used to turn plastic into fuel.

Source: Chemical Watch