End-of-waste criteria specify when certain waste ceases to be waste and becomes a product, or a secondary raw material. According to the Waste Framework Directive, certain specified waste ceases to be waste when it has undergone a recovery operation (including recycling) and complies with specific criteria.
EURATEX Position
EURATEX advocates for harmonized end-of-waste criteria for textiles at EU-level, recognizing textile waste as a resource to develop a secondary raw materials market for textiles that offers a constant and sufficient supply of recycled fibres and at competitive prices.
Harmonised EoW across the EU can remove local barriers for discarded textiles to be properly reused and recycled at large scale. As sorting, recycling and fibre production capabilities are spread across different geographies, waste must be easily movable across borders to effectively handle the large increase in collected waste. Harmonised EU end-of-waste criteria are therefore essential to enable shipment of textile waste purposed for recycling across the EU.
Timeline
The JRC is currently consulting stakeholders and collecting data for establishing harmonised end-of-waste criteria to textile waste.
