Permits & registration
What is end of waste?
End of waste is the point at which something that was waste stops being waste and becomes a product. Reaching it requires meeting defined tests, and until it is reached the waste controls continue to apply.
It matters commercially because a product can be sold and moved freely, while waste requires carrier registration, documentation and a permitted destination at every step.
The tests generally require that the material has been fully recovered, has a certain use and a market, meets the technical requirements for that use, and will not cause harm. Meeting three of four is not meeting the test.
Some materials have published quality protocols setting out exactly how to reach end of waste for that stream. Where one exists, following it is far safer than arguing the general test.
What goes wrong in practice
- Material sold as a product before the test is met, which leaves every movement unlawful.
- A quality protocol partially followed, which does not confer the status.
- Status assumed for a material because a competitor treats it that way.