Opening Pandora’s box – the EU review of the definition of ‘waste’

Article abstract:

The Commission Communication of 27 May 2003 on the prevention and recycling of waste indicated the Commission's readiness to hold a debate on the definition of 'waste' before finalising its strategy in 2004. The objective of this article is to give an overview of EU waste legislation, highlighting areas for possible change, and indicate some of the implications of making such changes, by looking at the framework for changes to the definition of 'waste', including constraints; the role of the definition of waste in the Framework Directive; and the legal issues to be addressed by the strategy, including the classification of recoverable wastes.