Deposit-able plastic bottles and certain other plastic waste will soon no longer be waste – Finland is not waiting for EU regulation but is moving forward with national criteria

Finland is preparing national end-of-waste (EoW) criteria for certain plastic waste.

The end of waste classification will facilitate the utilization of waste materials in products and facilitate the replacement of virgin plastics with recycled plastics in the manufacture of plastic products.

The national Plastics No More Waste regulation would provide assessment criteria for the end of waste material classification and how the material can return to the market as a product.

Low-risk plastic waste included

"The core question is how to ensure adequate management of health and environmental risks. In the draft regulation prepared by the Finnish Environment Institute, we decided to limit the permitted input materials for mechanical recycling to plastic waste that is low-risk and that already recycles well in principle. This way, there is no need to impose determination obligations related to chemicals or harmful substances for the quality assurance of the end product, such as recycled plastics," says the group manager at the Finnish Environment Institute. Jani Salminen.

He reported on the progress of the preparation of the regulation in November at the Recycling of Construction Plastics seminar organized by the Ministry of the Environment.

The development of the No More Waste assessment criteria for plastic waste is part of Finland's national Plastics Roadmap Program.

Deposit-based plastic packaging and plastic wrap

Permitted inputs would include, for example, plastic packaging waste, deposit-based plastic beverage containers, construction film and plastic insulation waste.

The EU has been planning to develop end-of-waste (EoW) criteria across Europe, but the preparation of new regulations has been on hold for a long time. Last year, the Commission's research centre, the JRC, announced that plastics would be included in the EU-level preparation of EoW criteria.

Since the EU timetable is still open, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment has nevertheless decided to continue preparing its own national EEJ regulation.

The draft national regulation is currently being sent out for comment. The draft regulation must then be notified to the EU Commission. The notification is expected to take six months. After this, the regulation and its instructions would enter into force.

Concrete waste was already exempt from waste classification

In Finland Concrete aggregates received criteria in the fall of 2022, according to which it is exempt from waste classification.

The regulation is expected to promote the processing of concrete waste and strengthen the market for recycled concrete. The scope of the regulation covers an estimated one million tonnes of concrete waste per year.

End of waste criteria has been prepared for a long time in the EU and in Finland.

Text: Elina Saarinen/ Uusiouutiset-magazine

Image: Adobe Stock. Finland is preparing criteria according to which, for example, plastic bottle waste would no longer be waste.