End of Waste-kriterier för ökad resurseffektivitet av mineralt bygg- och rivningsavfall - En studie om utformning och beslutsgrunder av nationellt antagna End of Waste-kriterier inom EU

Sammanfattning: This study contributes with knowledge of effective strategies in the conversion towards a circular economy. Since construction and demolition waste (CDW) is one of the largest waste streams in the EU, there is a need to recycle the material. End of Waste criteria (EoW criteria), which specify when certain waste ceases to be waste, is a possible way of increasing the recycling rates. This study compares and analyses nationally adopted EoW criteria for mineral CDW in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Austria, Germany and Finland. The aim of the study was to investigate whether some member states’ success in recycling CDW could be attributed to, at least in part, EoW criteria or policies related to these. With the aid of waste statistics, communication with representatives from branch organisations and authorities, and by analysing key components of EoW criteria and overall recycling strategies, potential connections between these and recycling rates are highlighted. The results show that the member states have designed their EoW criteria in similar ways. In contrast, the risk assessments which assess the risk related to the use of recycled waste which may contain harmful substances, carried out by the member states prior to the implementation of the EoW criteria varies a lot. Yet, the resulting limit values for leaching and total content of harmful substances are quite similar. The results highlights the importance of comparing the risk assessments as these shows what the resulting limit values considers. From the results of this study, it also becomes clear that End of Waste criteria are far from being the sole contributing factor for relatively high CDW recycling rates, but rather one part of the solution. The use of End of Waste criteria is one of several tools and one part in a strategy that promotes recycling of CDW within a country.