The question of the extent to which impurities may be contained in waste has been the subject of controversial discussion for years and is handled differently in the EU Member States. It is clear that impurities are a characteristic property of waste. This can also be seen in the EU’s end-of-waste regulations, which allow small amounts of impurities even in by-products, whereby the proportions are higher for metals than for cullet glass, depending on the substance, and a quality management system is applied to the by-products.
What can be concluded from this for the possible impurities in waste is first of all the fact that possible impurities differ waste-specifically. In practice, therefore, starting with the rule of thumb, which assumes 5% impurities, there are further waste-specific official regulations, which are predominantly 5 to 10% for metals and 2% for paper and plastics. From a technical point of view, some of these limit values are questionable and it is doubtful that they comply with the ECJ ruling from May 2020.
ECJ Case
Using the example of entry B3020 of the WSR, the ECJ (Case C-654/18 of 28 May 2020) came to the conclusion that the impurities must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and not as a general rule. The decisive factor for the admissibility of impurities is whether they increase the hazard potential of the waste or impedes its environmentally sound recovery. This is in line with the Green List’s chapeau, which reads as follows:
“Regardless of whether or not wastes are included on this list, they may not be subject to the general information requirements laid down in Article 18 if they are contaminated by other materials to an extent which
(a) increases the risks associated with the wastes sufficiently to render them appropriate for submission to the procedure of prior written notification and consent, when taking into account the hazardous characteristics listed in Annex III to” Waste Framework Directive “; or
(b) prevents the recovery of the wastes in an environmentally sound manner.”
Correspondents’ Guidelines 12 on the Shipment of Plastic Waste
The draft of the Guidelines for Points of Contact 12 of 23 September 2021 contains limit values for permissible impurities to fill out the terms “almost free of impurities and other types of waste” and “almost exclusively”.