At what point is an object or substance considered to be “waste”?

1. Definition

Waste is defined as “any substance, object or movable item being disposed of by its owner, or which its owner intends to or is obliged to dispose of..” (Article L.541-1 of the French Environmental Code).

This Article also specifies that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer, or, failing that, the owner, to categorize the waste and in particular to determine whether or not it is hazardous.

2. Examples

• industrial sludge, les used oils, packaging, wood, solvents, glass waste from electrical and electronic equipment (D3E), vehicles no longer in use and their catalytic converters or used tyres, clinker, etc. (this list is not exhaustive).
• soil and earth : starting from when these are excavated (from a construction or demolition site for example) these are classed as construction and civil engineering waste.
• decommissioned marine vessels are a very specific type of waste, and have their own waste processing regulations : see article regarding recycling of marine vessels.

3. Codes and Listings

Each type of waste is assigned to a certain category, according to the waste code listings used in the procedures for transboundary movements of waste :

• those of the Basel Convention (Basel code) which distinguishes between :
  • the amber list (codes beginning with A) : hazardous waste (pages 68 et seq.)
  • the green list (codes beginning with B) : non-hazardous waste (page 77 et seq.)

for certain waste types there is no Basel code. These types are referred to as “unlisted”.
E.g. : soil and earth do not fall under a Basel code.
However, if a Basel code exists, only one Basel code may be applied.

• those of the EC regulation 1013/2006 (EC code)
  • Made up of 6 digits, these codes also distinguish between hazardous and non-hazardous waste via the use of an asterisk (* = hazardous waste). E.g. : 07 05 13* = solid waste containing dangerous substances

NB : the EC code is always required, and as opposed to the Basel Code, several EC codes may be applied.

• the OCDE code (page 21 et seq) :
  • This code is composed of 2 letters and 3 digits, referred to as “OECD code” often using the same figures as the Basel code (with some exceptions).

NB : if there is no Basel code, it is not necessary to specify an OECD code. However, if a waste item is “unlisted” in the Basel code, the OECD code can serve as a source of information.
E.g. : wood does not have a Basel code, but it has an OECD code : AC170.

These classifications, in addition to several other criteria (origin, destination, processing) enable us to determine whether or not a transboundary movement is possible, and if so, which procedure will apply.