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Aspects to be considered for waste classification

Commission notice on technical guidance on the classification of waste · European Union

In the LoW pure metal alloys are specifically exempt from the classification as hazardous: ‘The concentration limits defined in Annex III to Directive 2008/98/EC do not apply to pure metal alloys in their massive form (not contaminated with hazardous substances). Those waste alloys that are considered as hazardous waste are specifically enumerated in this list and marked with an asterisk (*)’ Additionally, special care should be taken in order to avoid misclassification of scrap metals as waste. Council Regulation (EU) No 333/2011 establishes criteria determining when certain types of scrap metal (iron, steel and aluminium scrap) cease to be waste. Similar legislation exists for copper scrap (Commission Regulation (EU) No 715/2013). Operators may decide voluntarily whether to make use of this end-of waste status for metal scrap that fulfils the respective criteria. If fulfilling the relevant criteria, metals/alloys may not be considered waste as defined according to the WFD, and the classification according to this technical guidance note is not applicable. In the case of massive metals, hazardous entries are unlikely to be used, unless a substantial indication exists that metal fractions have been contaminated with non-metal hazardous substances during the treatment process in a way that the waste displays hazardous properties. Only alloys in their massive form that are specifically listed as hazardous, or contaminated with non-metal hazardous substances, should be treated as hazardous. According to the UK Guidance, the only ‘alloy’ specifically listed in the LoW and assigned to an AH entry is: 18 01 10* amalgam waste from dental care AH Please note that the flow charts for the assessment of hazardous properties as displayed in Annex 3 do not specifically recall that the concentration limits defined in Annex III to the WFD do not apply to pure metal alloys in their massive form.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07