2.1.1. Waste Framework Directive (WFD)

The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (hereinafter WFD) is the key legislative document on waste at the EU level. Being a Directive, the WFD is transposed into the national legislation of the MS by means of separate legal acts. The scope of the Directive is determined by the definition of ‘waste’ in Article 3(1) WFD as:. ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’. In many cases the decision as to whether a substance or an object is ‘waste’ in accordance with the WFD is easy to determine. However, in some other cases it is more difficult. Extensive guidance on the definition of ‘waste’, including information on the exclusions from the scope of WFD, and examples from the binding jurisprudence of the CJEU, can be found in the Guidance on the interpretation of key provisions of Directive 2008/98/EC (6) (hereafter ‘the WFD Guidance’). If a substance or object fulfils the criteria for being waste, it is subject to waste legislation including rules on waste classification (unless it is specifically excluded from the scope of WFD). The WFD defines ‘hazardous waste’ in its Article 3(2) as: ‘waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in Annex III’. Deciding whether a substance or object can be considered ‘waste’ in the sense of the WFD is an important decision, and just as equally important, is the decision as to whether it should be classified as ‘non-hazardous waste’ or ‘hazardous waste’. Strict conditions apply to the managing of hazardous waste, in particular: the obligation to provide evidence for the tracking of the waste according to the system put by the relevant Member State (Article 17 WFD); a mixing ban (Article 18 WFD, see for details the WFD Guidance). specific labelling and packaging obligations (Article 19 WFD). The EU legislation further determines that hazardous waste must only be treated in specially designated treatment facilities that have obtained a special permit as required under Articles 23 to 25 of the Waste Framework Directive, but also under other legislation such as the Landfill (7) and Industrial Emissions (8) Directives. The properties of waste which render it hazardous, laid down in Annex III to the WFD have been recently adapted to scientific progress through Commission Regulation (EU) 1357/2014 (9), applicable as of 1 June 2015, and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/997 (10), applicable as of 5 July 2018. EU regulations are directly applicable in the Member States without transposition to national legislation. The hazardous properties are discussed in detail in Annex 3 of this document. In the context of waste classification, Article 7 WFD sets the basis for the List of Waste (see below) and its application. Member States may introduce additional entries in the national documents reflecting the LoW.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.