EU proposes harmonised end-of-waste criteria for recycled plastic

The European Commission has notified the WTO of a draft Commission Implementing Regulation setting harmonised, EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic waste, adopted under the empowerment in Article 6(2) of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). The draft applies to all discarded thermoplastic polymers and blends of thermoplastic polymers, regardless of polymer type or the source of the waste, that are used as input for mechanical or solvent-based recycling. Chemical recycling and other recycling routes are not covered at this stage.

The purpose of the Regulation is to fix the point at which recycled plastic stops being legally classified as waste and becomes a product that can be placed on the market like any other raw material. Today, Member States apply their own national end-of-waste rules, or none at all, which creates legal uncertainty for recyclers and traders moving recyclate across borders and adds cost to shipments that would otherwise be treated as ordinary goods rather than waste. The Commission's stated aim is to build a functioning single market for secondary raw materials, cut administrative burden, particularly for smaller recyclers, and secure a stable supply of high quality recyclate to support the circular economy.

To qualify for end-of-waste status, plastic waste and the resulting recyclate need to meet four categories of requirements set out in the draft's annex:

1. Input material. The waste cannot be hazardous, cannot originate from healthcare waste other than non-hazardous plastic healthcare waste separated at source, and cannot come from absorbent hygiene products.
2. Treatment process. Recycling must be mechanical or solvent-based and follow the specific treatment techniques set out in the Regulation.
3. Output quality. The resulting recyclate must be usable directly in manufacturing new plastic products without further treatment, and material intended for food contact applications must additionally meet decontamination requirements under the food contact materials rules.
4. Conformity documentation. Each consignment needs a statement of conformity from the EU importer or producer confirming that the above criteria are met.

Recyclers located outside the EU face an added requirement. Because the end-of-waste criteria are meant to apply equally to material entering the EU market from third countries, non-EU suppliers must operate a quality management system covering input material, recycling process and output quality, and have that system verified by an accredited conformity assessment body or environmental verifier before their recyclate can be placed on the EU market as a non-waste product.

The Commission has set a comment deadline of 20 September 2026, 45 days from notification, and expects to adopt the final Implementing Regulation in October 2026. The Regulation would enter into force twenty days after publication in the Official Journal, with application starting on the first day of the month falling six months after entry into force, giving the market roughly six to seven months of lead time after final adoption before the rules take effect.

This proposal sits alongside, and feeds directly into, the growing set of EU rules that depend on being able to prove recycled content, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the incoming End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation. Both set binding recycled content targets for plastics, and both need a reliable, EU-wide definition of what counts as genuine secondary raw material rather than reprocessed waste. Once these end-of-waste criteria are in force, recyclers and downstream manufacturers will need to hold and pass on statements of conformity for each batch of recyclate, and companies sourcing recycled plastic from outside the EU will need to confirm their suppliers' quality management systems are properly verified, since this documentation will become the basis for demonstrating compliance with recycled content obligations elsewhere in EU law.

Source: WTO TBT Notification G/TBT/N/EU/1229, JRC Technical Report, EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic waste (2024)