Europe – European Court decision re-opens definition of waste debate

A recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement has apparently rekindled the confusion regarding the definition of the recovery of waste, according to the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM).



This decision relates to the status of slurry as a waste in Spain.



In coming to its conclusions regarding Spain‘‘s failure to control this slurry under the Waste Framework Directive (Case C-416/02), the ECJ concluded that livestock effluent may fall outside classification as waste? if applied to the land in certain circumstances.



The judgement is being interpreted by some as having an impact on industries other than the agricultural sector, re-opening the debate on whether by-products should be categorised as waste. This, in turn, determines whether or not waste controls have to apply to their re-use, recycling or recovery and, therefore, the attractiveness of the material to another user.



CIWM deputy chief executive Chris Murphy comments: ‘‘Having heard directly from Defra, CIWM does not believe that this judgement means waste controls should be dis-applied to a broad range of by-products. Others have clearly been left with this impression. We need further clarification or a definitive statement from Defra or the EU to show how the decision does or does not affect other sectors or waste streams. It is already hard enough for waste managers or waste producers to understand and work with definitions of what is or is not waste. More fog? is the last thing we need