Classification systems
In European waste management practice, two waste list systems based on different principles are used. These waste classifications and waste catalogs or lists, which are used internationally and nationally, are briefly explained in the two subpages, as they are of fundamental importance both for understanding the regulations on transboundary waste shipments and for the enforcement of national waste legislation.
These waste classification systems have been developed and designed on the basis of different principles. In general, waste classification can be based on substance or origin, applying inherent hazard properties and/or risk considerations.
However, substances or objects do not automatically become waste if they can be assigned to one of the designations in the EWL or to the Green or Amber List. The only decisive factor for the classification as waste is the fulfillment of the waste definition according to the European Waste Framework Directive. It is therefore decisive whether the owner of a movable object or a substance discards it, wants to discard it or has to discard it. The definitions contained in the CEA, including the disposal criteria, can also be used to interpret the term “waste”.
European Waste List
The European Waste List (EWL) is predominantly structured according to origin. From the chapters to the waste codes, the EWL contains an increasingly precise description of waste. The waste codes are represented by a six-digit sequence of numbers, with the first two digits representing the chapter to which the waste belongs and the next two digits representing the assignment to the group. The last two digits are then used to finalize the waste type.
The classification of waste is based on Annex III of the European Waste Framework Directive. The HP criteria (substance-inherent hazard criteria) listed there are based on the criteria of the CLP Regulation. The HP criteria are backed by limit values or other requirements. An exception is the hazard criterion “infectious” (HP 9), which is filled out according to national regulations.
Although this classification leans heavily on the classification of substances and preparations under chemicals law, it only adopts it in part and has also made adjustments. It is therefore quite possible that a substance that is hazardous under chemicals law is to be classified as non-hazardous as waste (for example, higher limit value for HP13 under waste law). On the other hand, a substance classified as non-hazardous under chemicals law may be classified as hazardous waste due to the application of the additional waste law hazard criterion HP15.
Waste lists of EC Waste Shipment Regulation
In the area of transboundary waste shipments, a predominantly substance-based waste classification system has been applied in parallel since the EC Waste Shipment Regulation came into force in 1994. The basis for this is the two-tier system of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which consists of the Green List and the Amber List and which has been incorporated into the Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) with EU-specific additions/changes.
The adoption of the OECD waste lists based on Annexes VIII and IX of the Basel Convention into the corresponding annexes of the WSR was due to the general desire for worldwide harmonisation of the waste list systems used in transboundary waste shipments.
However, the hazard characteristics of both the Basel Convention and the OECD Council Decision are based on the hazard criteria for the transport of dangerous goods. Thus, the classification system of the WSR differs fundamentally from that of the EWL. Furthermore, the classification in the Green or Amber Waste Lists is based on a different system than in the EWL. In the WSR waste lists, classification is based on a risk assessment, whereas in the EWL, classification as hazardous is based exclusively on the substance’s intrinsic hazard characteristics, which are based on European chemicals law – without carrying out a risk assessment.