End of waste (EOW) is the Holy Grail for many of our more progressive recyclers. It’s a simple notion which in reality can be hard to achieve. The idea that you take waste that nobody wants and turn it into useful products that you can sell is the most successful business model a waste management company can engage in. So what has held us back from developing lots of EOW approvals for wastes that we recycle into useful products. The idea is actually not new but it first appeared in legislation at a European level in 2008. Since it became part of the legal framework in Ireland in 2011 around 15 companies has gained approval to produce products from the waste that they recycle. Dealing with companies one at a time has proven to be a very slow process and what is really needed is national end of waste approvals for some of the really common wastes we want to turn into useful products. The EPA published a draft national end of waste approval for aggregates in February of this year.
2023 saw the first major step towards achieving this target with the national Article 28 waste approval for aggregates that can be manufactured from construction and demolition rubble. This creates the opportunity for many hundreds of companies to put in place the necessary management systems to be able to create recycled aggregates. In August this draft document will be finalised and approved by the European Commission. Companies wanting to produce aggregates from waste will not only need an appropriately authorised site and the necessary equipment, but staff trained to understand how to comply with the EPA EOW approval, inspect and select suitable waste materials, assess the quality of finished product and operate an externally certified management system. At the heart of the scheme is a testing regime that assures the final users that the product produced conform with the management system and end of waste approval.
ETS has begun to develop a training programme to support the implementation of this new national end of waste approval. Our team has been heavily involved in EOW approvals through our consulting activities. We will be able to produce very relevant and useful training basing this on our real understanding of how this works at a practical level.
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If you enjoyed reading this blog, then why not check out our article on the Circular Economy Act.
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