Business and industry associations see room for improvement in several areas, reports Euwid.

According to the EU Commission, uniform EU criteria for when a plastic recyclate is no longer considered waste should help to create a single market for recycled plastics. The DIHK Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer (German Chamber of Industry and Commerce), the bvse Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung (Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Disposal), the VCI Verband der Chemischen Industrie (German Chemical Industry Association) and the VOEB Verband Österreichischer Entsorgungsbetriebe (Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies) welcome the planned EU-wide criteria for the so-called ‘end-of-waste’ (EoW) status for plastic waste in their statements on the European Commission's draft implementing provisions, according to Euwid. The associations support harmonisation at EU level, but call for clearer definitions, more practical requirements and less bureaucracy to protect small and medium-sized enterprises.
 
According to Euwid, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) warns of high administrative costs, primarily due to the planned obligations for a certified quality management system (QMS) and declarations of conformity for each delivery. The DIHK therefore proposes recognising existing systems such as ISO or EMAS and introducing transitional and exemption provisions.
 
For the bvse, the regulation must not lead to materials that have already achieved end-of-waste status in accordance with Article 6 (1) of the Waste Framework Directive being reclassified as waste.
 
The bvse and VOEB consider it problematic that the EU Commission wants to set a foreign matter limit of 1.9 per cent for plastic waste. The bvse also sees ambiguities in the definition of foreign substances, for example in additives or ash components such as titanium dioxide. Both the bvse and VOEB consider the requirement to measure the foreign substance content prior to thermal treatment to be problematic. The VOEB believes that the actual end product placed on the market should be decisive.
 
The VCI points out that the planned criteria were tailored to mechanical and solvent-based recycling. Chemical recycling would not fit into this scheme and should therefore continue to be examined at national level.
 
Quellen:

• Euwid Recycling und Entsorgung 9/2026 (24.2.2026)
• Foto: © Christian Lue / Unsplash (symbolic image)