Legalize / European Union / Directive

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (Text with EEA relevance)

Type Directive

Publication 2008-11-22

Last updated 2025-10-16

State In force

Department Council of the European Union, European Parliament

Source EUR-Lex

articles 54

Reform history JSON API

Where hazardous waste has been unlawfully mixed in breach of this Article, Member States shall ensure, without prejudice to Article 36, that separation is carried out where technically feasible and necessary to comply with Article 13.

Where separation is not required pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Member States shall ensure that the mixed waste is treated in a facility that has obtained a permit in accordance with Article 23 to treat such a mixture.

Article 19

Labelling of hazardous waste

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in the course of collection, transport and temporary storage, hazardous waste is packaged and labelled in accordance with the international and Community standards in force.

Whenever hazardous waste is transferred within a Member State, it shall be accompanied by an identification document, which may be in electronic format, containing the appropriate data specified in Annex IB to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006.

Article 20

Hazardous waste produced by households

By 1 January 2025, Member States shall set up separate collection for hazardous waste fractions produced by households to ensure that they are treated in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 and do not contaminate other municipal waste streams.

Articles 17, 18, 19 and 35 shall not apply to mixed waste produced by households.

Articles 19 and 35 shall not apply to separate fractions of hazardous waste produced by households until they are accepted for collection, disposal or recovery by an establishment or an undertaking which has obtained a permit or has been registered in accordance with Article 23 or 26.

By 5 January 2020, the Commission shall draw up guidelines to assist and facilitate Member States in the separate collection of hazardous waste fractions produced by households.

Article 21

Waste oils

Without prejudice to the obligations related to the management of hazardous waste laid down in Articles 18 and 19, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that:

(a) waste oils are collected separately, unless separate collection is not technically feasible taking into account good practices;

(b) waste oils are treated, giving priority to regeneration or alternatively to other recycling operations delivering an equivalent or a better overall environmental outcome than regeneration, in accordance with Articles 4 and 13;

(c) waste oils of different characteristics are not mixed and waste oils are not mixed with other kinds of waste or substances, if such mixing impedes their regeneration or another recycling operation delivering an equivalent or a better overall environmental outcome than regeneration.

For the purposes of separate collection of waste oils and their proper treatment, Member States may, according to their national conditions, apply additional measures such as technical requirements, producer responsibility, economic instruments or voluntary agreements.

If waste oils, according to national legislation, are subject to requirements of regeneration, Member States may prescribe that such waste oils shall be regenerated if technically feasible and, where Articles 11 or 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 apply, restrict the transboundary shipment of waste oils from their territory to incineration or co-incineration facilities in order to give priority to the regeneration of waste oils.

By 31 December 2022, the Commission shall examine data on waste oils provided by Member States in accordance with Article 37(4) with a view to considering the feasibility of adopting measures for the treatment of waste oils, including quantitative targets on the regeneration of waste oils and any further measures to promote the regeneration of waste oils. To that end, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal.

Article 22

Bio-waste

Member States shall ensure that, by 31 December 2023 and subject to Article 10(2) and (3), bio-waste is either separated and recycled at source, or is collected separately and is not mixed with other types of waste.

Member States may allow waste with similar biodegradability and compostability properties which complies with relevant European standards or any equivalent national standards for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation, to be collected together with bio-waste.

Member States shall take measures in accordance with Articles 4 and 13, to:

(a) encourage the recycling, including composting and digestion, of bio-waste in a way that fulfils a high level of environment protection and results in output which meets relevant high-quality standards;

(b) encourage home composting; and

By 31 December 2018, the Commission shall request the European standardisation organisations to develop European standards for bio-waste entering organic recycling processes, for compost and for digestate, based on best available practices.

Article 22a

Extended producer responsibility scheme for textiles

Member States shall ensure that producers have extended producer responsibility for textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc that they make available on the market for the first time, in accordance with Articles 8 and 8a.

Member States may set up an extended producer responsibility scheme for the producers of mattresses in accordance with Articles 8 and 8a.

Member States shall ensure that a producer as defined in Article 3(4b), point (d), established in another Member State and making textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc available for the first time on their territory appoints, by written mandate, a legal or natural person established on their territory as its authorised representative for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations of a producer related to the extended producer responsibility scheme on their territory.

Member States may provide that a producer as defined in Article 3(4b), point (d), established in a third country and making textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc available for the first time on their territory is to appoint, by written mandate, a legal or natural person established on their territory as its authorised representative for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations of a producer related to the extended producer responsibility scheme on their territory.

Member States shall ensure that, if a producer as defined in Article 3(4b), point (d), so wishes, the obligations under paragraph 3 of this Article, if any, can be met, on the producer’s behalf, by a producer responsibility organisation appointed by written mandate. Where such a producer has appointed a producer responsibility organisation, the obligations under this Article shall be met by that organisation mutatis mutandis unless otherwise specified by the Member State.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 38a to amend Annex IVc to this Directive in order to bring the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes listed therein in line with the CN codes listed in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 ([^E0016]).

Member States shall clearly define the roles and responsibilities of relevant actors involved in the implementation, monitoring and verification of the extended producer responsibility scheme referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in accordance with Article 8a(1), point (a).

Member States shall ensure, in accordance with Article 8a(6), that relevant actors are involved in the implementation of the extended producer responsibility scheme. Those relevant actors shall include at least:

(a) producers making products available on the market;

(b) organisations implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers making products available on the market;

(d) local authorities;

(e) re-use and preparing for re-use operators;

(f) social economy entities, including local social enterprises.

Member States shall ensure that the producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc cover the costs of the following:

(a) collection of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc and subsequent waste management that entails the following:
(i) the collection of those used products for re-use and the separate collection of waste products for preparing for re-use, and for recycling, in accordance with Articles 22c and 22d,
(ii) transport of collected used and waste products referred to in point (i) for subsequent sorting for re-use, for preparing for re-use, and for recycling operations, in accordance with Article 22d,
(iii) sorting, preparing for re-use, recycling and other recovery operations and disposal of collected used and waste products referred to in point (i),
(iv) collection, transport and treatment of waste resulting from operations referred to in points (i), (ii) and (iii) by social economy entities and other actors that are part of the collection system referred to in Article 22c(8) and (11);

(b) carrying out a compositional survey of collected mixed municipal waste in accordance with Article 22d(6);

(c) providing information, including via appropriate information campaigns, on sustainable consumption, waste prevention, re-use, preparing for re-use, including repair, recycling, other recovery and disposal of textile, textile-related and footwear products, in accordance with Article 22c(14), (15) and (18);

(d) data gathering and reporting to the competent authorities in accordance with Article 37;

(e) support for research and development to improve product design for product aspects listed in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, and waste prevention and management operations in line with the waste hierarchy, with a view to scaling up fibre-to-fibre recycling, without prejudice to Union State aid rules.

Member States may decide that the producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc are to cover, partially or totally, the costs referred to in paragraph 8, point (a), of this Article, for waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc ending up in mixed municipal waste.

10.

Member States shall ensure that producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc cover the costs referred to in paragraph 8 of this Article in relation to used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc that are deposited at collection points set up in accordance with Article 22c(8) and (11), where such products, including any used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products that may have been collected through private take-back schemes and later aggregated with textiles collected pursuant to Article 22c(8), were made available on the market for the first time from 16 October 2025 if an extended producer responsibility scheme for textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc is already established in the Member State in question in accordance with Articles 8 and 8a on that date.

11.

(a) from the date on which that Member State brings into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2025/1892 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0017]), pursuant to Article 2(1) of that Directive; or

(b) at the latest, from 17 April 2028, if an extended producer responsibility scheme for textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc is established in the Member State in question in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article from 16 October 2025.

12.

The costs to be covered referred to in paragraph 8 shall not exceed the costs that are necessary to provide the services referred to in that paragraph in a cost-efficient way and shall be established in a transparent way between the relevant actors in accordance with paragraph 7.

13.

For the purposes of compliance with Article 30(1), points (d) and (e), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Member States shall ensure that providers of online platforms falling within the scope of Chapter III, Section 4, of that Regulation that allow consumers to conclude distance contracts with producers offering textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc to consumers located in the Union obtain the following information from producers prior to allowing them to use their services:

(a) information on the registration in the register of producers referred to in Article 22b in the Member State where the consumer is located and the registration number or numbers of the producer in that register;

(b) a self-certification by the producer committing itself to only offering textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc with regard to which the extended producer responsibility requirements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 8 of this Article and Article 22c(1) are complied with in the Member State where the consumer is located.

14.

Member States shall ensure that the extended producer responsibility schemes laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article are established by 17 April 2028 in accordance with Articles 8, 8a, and 22a to 22d.

15.

Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that producers offering textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc to end users located in the Union provide fulfilment service providers with the information referred to in paragraph 13 at the moment of the conclusion of the contract between the fulfilment service provider and the producer for any of the services referred to in Article 3, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

16.

Member States shall ensure that the fulfilment service provider, upon receiving the information referred to in paragraph 15 and at the moment of the conclusion of the contract between the fulfilment service provider and the producer for any of the services referred to in Article 3, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, through the use of any freely accessible official online database or online interface made available by a Member State or the Union or through requests to the producer to provide supporting documents from reliable sources, makes best efforts to assess whether the information referred to in paragraph 15 of this Article is reliable and complete. For the purposes of this Directive, producers shall be liable for the accuracy of the information provided.

Member States shall ensure that:

(a) where the fulfilment service provider obtains sufficient indications or has reason to believe that any item of information referred to in paragraph 15 obtained from the producer concerned is inaccurate, incomplete or not up to date, the fulfilment service provider requests that that producer correct, complete or update that information without delay or within the period set by Union and national law, and

(b) where the producer fails to correct, complete or update that information, the fulfilment service provider swiftly suspends the provision of its service to that producer in relation to the offering of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc to end users located in the Union until the request has been fully complied with; the fulfilment service provider shall provide the producer with the reasons for the suspension.

17.

Without prejudice to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0018]), if a fulfilment service provider suspends the provision of its service pursuant to paragraph 16 of this Article, Member States shall ensure that the producer concerned has the right to challenge the suspension of the fulfilment service provider before a court in one of the Member States where the fulfilment service provider is established.

Article 22b

Member States shall establish a register of producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc (‘register of producers’) to monitor compliance of those producers with Article 22a and Article 22c(1).

The Commission shall establish a website with links to all national registers of producers to facilitate the registration of producers in all Member States. Member States shall inform the Commission about the link to their national registers of producers within 30 days of the launch of the registers. The information on each register of producers shall be easily accessible, publicly available and free of charge, machine readable, sortable and searchable, and respect open standards for third party use. The provision of information under this paragraph shall be without prejudice to preserving the commercial and industrial confidentiality of sensitive information in conformity with relevant Union and national law.

Member States shall ensure that producers are required to register in the register of producers. To that end, Member States shall require the producers to submit an application for registration in each Member State where they make available textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc on the market for the first time.

Member States shall only allow producers to make available on the market for the first time textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc where they or, in the case of authorisation, their authorised representatives for extended producer responsibility, are registered in the Member State in question.

The application for registration shall include the following information:

(a) name, trademark and brand names, where available, under which the producer operates in the Member State concerned and address of the producer including postal code and place, street and number and country, telephone, if any, web address and email address, and a single contact point;

(b) national identification code of the producer, including its trade register number or equivalent official registration number and Union or national tax identification number;

(c) the CN codes of the textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc that the producer intends to make available on the market for the first time;

(d) the name, postal code, place, street and number, country, telephone, if any, web address, email address and national identification code of the producer responsibility organisation, trade register number or an equivalent official registration number, the Union or national tax identification number of the producer responsibility organisation, and the represented producer’s mandate;

(e) a statement by the producer or, where applicable, the authorised representative for extended producer responsibility or the producer responsibility organisation, stating that the information provided is true.

Member States shall ensure that the obligations under this Article can, on the producer’s behalf, be met by a producer responsibility organisation by written mandate.

Where a producer has designated a producer responsibility organisation, the obligations under this Article shall be met by that organisation mutatis mutandis unless otherwise specified by the Member State.

Member States shall ensure that the competent authority:

(a) receives applications for the registration of producers referred to in paragraph 2 via an electronic data-processing system, the details of which shall be made available on the competent authority’s website;

(b) grants registrations and provides a registration number within a maximum period of 12 weeks from the date that the information laid down in paragraph 4 is provided;

(c) is able to lay down detailed arrangements with respect to the requirements and process of registration without adding substantive requirements further to those laid down in paragraph 4;

(d) is able to charge cost-based and proportionate fees to producers for the processing of applications referred to in paragraph 2.

The competent authority may refuse or withdraw the producer’s registration where the information laid down in paragraph 4 and related documentary evidence is not provided or is insufficient or where the producer no longer meets the requirements set out in paragraph 4, point (d).

Member States shall require the producer, or, where applicable, the authorised representative for extended producer responsibility or the producer responsibility organisation, to notify the competent authority without undue delay of any changes to the information contained in the registration in accordance with paragraph 4, point (d), and of any permanent cessation as regards the making available on the market for the first time of the textile, textile-related or footwear products referred to in the registration. A producer shall be excluded from the register of producers if it has ceased to exist.

Where the information in the register of producers is not publicly accessible, Member States shall ensure that providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with producers and fulfilment service providers concluding contracts for any of the services referred to in Article 3, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 with producers offering textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc to end users are granted access, free of charge, to the register of producers.

10.

By 17 April 2027, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the harmonised format for registration in the register of producers based on the information requirements set out in paragraph 4 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2).

Article 22c

Producer responsibility organisations for textiles

Member States shall ensure that producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc entrust a producer responsibility organisation to fulfil their extended producer responsibility obligations laid down in Article 22a on their behalf.

Member States shall require producer responsibility organisations intending to fulfil the extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers in accordance with Article 8a(3), Articles 22a, 22b and 22d and this Article to obtain an authorisation from a competent authority.

Member States shall lay down criteria regarding the qualifications that producer responsibility organisations need to have in order to be entrusted to fulfil extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers. In particular, Member States shall require the producer responsibility organisations to demonstrate the necessary expertise in waste management and sustainability.

Member States may derogate from the obligation in paragraph 3, provided that by 16 October 2025 they have already laid down criteria ensuring that a producer responsibility organisation may be entrusted to fulfil extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers only where it shows its expertise in the field of waste management and those criteria ensure that the producer responsibility organisation will manage the waste in a sustainable manner and limit the impact of waste management on the environment.

Without prejudice to Article 8a(4), Member States shall require producer responsibility organisations to ensure that the financial contributions paid to them by producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc:

(a) are based on the weight and, where appropriate, the quantity of the products concerned and, for textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, are modulated on the basis of the ecodesign requirements adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 that are most relevant for the prevention of waste generated from textile, textile-related and footwear products and for their treatment in line with the waste hierarchy and the corresponding measurement methodologies for those criteria adopted pursuant to that Regulation or on the basis of other Union law establishing harmonised sustainability criteria and measurement methods for textile, textile-related and footwear products, and that ensure the improvement of environmental sustainability and circularity of those products;

(b) take account of the revenues by the producer responsibility organisations from re-use, from preparing for re-use or from the value of secondary raw materials from recycled waste textiles;

(c) ensure equal treatment of producers regardless of their origin or size, without placing disproportionate burdens on producers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, of small quantities of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc.

Where it is appropriate to address ultra-fast and fast-fashion practices and related overgeneration of waste from textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, Member States may require the producer responsibility organisations to modulate the financial contribution on the basis of producers’ practices, concerning textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, based on the product life span resulting from such practices, the length of the useful life of those products beyond the first user, and the contribution to closing the loop of those products, by turning waste textiles into raw materials for new production chains.

Where necessary to avoid distortion of the internal market and ensure consistency with the ecodesign requirements adopted pursuant to Article 4 in conjunction with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the fee modulation criteria for the application of paragraph 5, point (a), and paragraph 6 of this Article. Those implementing acts, which shall not concern the precise determination of the level of the contributions, shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2) of this Directive.

Member States shall ensure that the producer responsibility organisations establish a separate collection system for used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, regardless of their nature, material composition, condition, name, brand, trademark or origin, in the territory of a Member State where they make those products available on the market for the first time. The separate collection system shall:

(a) offer the actors referred to in paragraph 9, point (a), the collection of such used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, and provide for the practical arrangements necessary for the collection and transport of such used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, including the provision, free of charge, of suitable collection and transport containers, to the collection points which are part of the producer responsibility organisation’s collection system;

(b) ensure the collection, free of charge, of such used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products collected through the collection points which are part of the producer responsibility organisation’s collection system, with a frequency that is adapted to the area covered and the volume of such used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products usually collected through those collection points;

(c) ensure the collection, free of charge, of waste generated by social economy entities and other actors from such textile, textile-related and footwear products collected through the collection points, which are part of the producer responsibility organisation’s collection system, in a coordinated manner between the producer responsibility organisation and social economy entities and such other actors.

Any coordination among producer responsibility organisations shall remain subject to Union competition law.

Member States shall ensure that the collection system referred to in paragraph 8:

(a) consists of collection points set up by the producer responsibility organisations and waste management operators on their behalf in cooperation with one or more of the following actors: social economy entities, retailers, public authorities or third parties carrying out on behalf of those authorities the collection of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, and operators of voluntary collection points;

(b) covers the whole territory of the Member State, taking into account population size and density, expected volume of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, accessibility and vicinity to end-users, without being limited to areas where the collection and subsequent management of those products is profitable;

(c) maintains a sustained and technically feasible increase in the separate collection and corresponding decrease in mixed municipal waste collection of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, based on available good practices.

10.

Member States shall ensure that producer responsibility organisations are not allowed to refuse the participation of local public authorities, social economy entities or other re-use operators in the separate collection system established pursuant to paragraph 8.

11.

Without prejudice to paragraph 8, points (a) and (b), and paragraph 9, point (a), Member States shall ensure that social economy entities are allowed to maintain and operate their own separate collection points and that they are given equal or preferential treatment in the location of the separate collection points. Member States shall ensure that social economy entities that are part of the collection system in accordance with paragraph 9, point (a), are not required to hand over collected used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc to the producer responsibility organisation.

12.

Member States shall ensure that social economy entities that operate their own separate collection points in accordance with paragraph 11 submit at least once a year to the competent authority information on the quantity by weight of the separately collected used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, specifying:

(a) the quantity by weight assessed as fit for re-use, indicating, where possible, the quantity by weight exported;

(b) the quantity by weight destined to preparing for re-use, and recycling, where available specifying separately fibre-to-fibre recycling, indicating, where possible, the quantity by weight exported; and

13.

By way of derogation from paragraph 12, Member States may exempt, partially or totally, social economy entities from the obligation to submit the information in paragraph 12, where the fulfilment of such reporting obligations would result in a disproportionate administrative burden on those entities.

14.

Member States shall ensure that, in addition to the information referred to in Article 8a(2), producer responsibility organisations make available to end users the following information regarding sustainable consumption, including second-hand options, re-use and end-of-life management of textile and footwear with respect to the textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc that the producers make available on the market for the first time:

(a) the role of end users in contributing to waste prevention, including any best practices, in particular by fostering sustainable consumption patterns and promoting good care of products while in use;

(b) re-use and repair arrangements available for textile and footwear;

(d) the role of end users in correctly contributing to the separate collection of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, including through donation;

(e) the impact on the environment, human health as well as social and human rights of textile production, in particular fast-fashion practices and consumption, recycling and other recovery and disposal and inappropriate discarding of waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, such as littering or discarding in mixed municipal waste as well as the steps taken to mitigate the impact on the environment and on human health.

15.

Member States shall ensure that the producer responsibility organisation provides the information referred to in paragraph 14 on a regular basis, and that the information is up to date and provided by means of:

(a) a website or other means of electronic communication;

(b) communication in public spaces and at the collection point;

(d) signposting in a language or languages which can be easily understood by users and consumers.

16.

Where, in a Member State, multiple producer responsibility organisations are entrusted to fulfil extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers, Member States shall ensure that those producer responsibility organisations cover the whole territory of the Member State, with the aim of providing uniform service quality of the separate collection system across the territory for used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc.

Member States shall designate the competent authority or appoint an independent third party to oversee that producer responsibility organisations fulfil their obligations in a coordinated manner and in accordance with Union competition law. Member States in which only one producer responsibility organisation is entrusted to fulfil extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers may designate the competent authority or appoint an independent third party to oversee that the producer responsibility organisation fulfils its obligations in accordance with the Union competition law.

17.

Member States shall require that producer responsibility organisations ensure the confidentiality of the data in their possession as regards proprietary information or information directly attributable to individual producers or their authorised representatives.

18.

Member States shall ensure that producer responsibility organisations publish on their websites, in addition to the information referred to in Article 8a(3), point (e):

(a) at least once a year, subject to commercial and industrial confidentiality, the information on:
(i) the amount, including the quantity by weight, of products made available on the market for the first time;
(ii) the quantity by weight of separate collection of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, specifying separately such unsold products;
(iii) the rates of re-use, preparing for re-use, and recycling, specifying separately the rate of fibre-to-fibre recycling, achieved by the producer responsibility organisation;
(iv) the rates of other recovery and disposal; and
(v) the rates of exports of used textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc assessed as fit for re-use, and exports of waste textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc;

(b) information on the selection procedure for waste management operators selected in accordance with paragraph 19.

19.

Member States shall ensure that producer responsibility organisations provide for a transparent and non-discriminatory selection procedure for waste management operators, based on transparent award criteria, without placing any disproportionate burden on small and medium-sized enterprises, to procure:

(a) waste management services from waste management operators referred to in paragraph 9, point (a), and

(b) subsequent waste treatment.

20.

Member States shall ensure that producer responsibility organisations provide, on an annual basis, the competent authorities with the information referred to in paragraph 18, points (a) and (b), including the relevant information referred to in paragraph 18, point (a), required, on an annual basis, from the producers of the textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc that have been made available on the market for the first time. Member States shall ensure that producer responsibility organisations specify the quantity by weight in respect of the information referred to in paragraph 18, point (a), points (iii), (iv) and (v).

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Member States shall require that, in respect of producers that are enterprises that employ fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and annual balance sheet does not exceed EUR 2 million, producer responsibility organisations request those enterprises to submit, on an annual basis, only the information listed in paragraph 18, point (a), point (i).

The Commission shall amend Commission Implementing Decisions (EU) 2019/1004 ([^E0019]) and (EU) 2021/19 ([^E0020]) to include, in accordance with Article 37(7) of this Directive, the information referred to in the first subparagraph. The amended implementing acts shall address:

(a) information on reporting schedules;

(b) specifications concerning the structure and format of data reporting with a view to ensuring uniformity, consistency and ease of data consolidation for producer responsibility organisations.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2).

Article 22d

Management of waste textiles

Member States shall ensure that the collection, loading and unloading, transportation and storage infrastructure as well as other operations including handling of used and waste textiles, and subsequent sorting and treatment processes, receive protection from adverse weather conditions and potential sources of contamination in order to prevent damage and cross-contamination of the collected used and waste textiles. Separately collected used and waste textile shall be subject to a professional screening at the separate collection point or the sorting facility to identify and remove non-target items or materials or substances that are potential sources of contamination.

Member States shall ensure that used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products that are separately collected, including in accordance with Article 22c(8) and (11), are considered to be waste upon collection.

With regard to textiles other than the products listed in Annex IVc, as well as discarded unsold textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc, Member States shall ensure that the different fractions of textiles materials and textiles items are kept separate at the point of waste generation where such separation facilitates subsequent re-use, preparing for re-use, or recycling, including fibre-to-fibre recycling where technological progress allows. That separation shall be carried out in a cost-efficient way to maximise resource recovery and environmental benefits.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, used textile, textile-related and footwear products that are directly handed over by end users and directly professionally assessed as fit for re-use at the collection point by the re-use operator or social economy entities shall not be considered to be waste upon collection.

Member States shall ensure that sorting operations of used and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products that are separately collected, including in accordance with Article 22c(8) and (11), comply with the following requirements:

(a) the sorting operation is to generate textile, textile-related and footwear products for re-use and preparing for re-use, prioritising local sorting, where appropriate, and local re-use;

(b) the sorting-for-re-use operations sort textile, textile-related and footwear products at an appropriate level of granularity, allowing for item-to-item sorting which separates fractions that are fit for direct re-use from those that are to be subject to further preparing for re-use operations, and target a specific re-use market applying up-to-date sorting criteria relevant to the receiving market;

(c) items that are assessed as not suitable for re-use are sorted for remanufacturing and recycling including, where technological progress allows, fibre-to-fibre recycling, with a view to prioritising remanufacturing over recycling;

(d) the output of sorting and subsequent recovery operations destined for re-use meet the criteria for ceasing to be considered as waste, as referred to in Article 6.

By 1 January 2026 and every five years thereafter, Member States shall carry out a compositional survey of collected mixed municipal waste to determine the share of waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, where appropriate, in accordance with the CN codes referred to in Annex IVc. Member States shall ensure that, on the basis of the information obtained, the competent authorities may require the producer responsibility organisations to take corrective action to increase their network of collection points and carry out information campaigns in accordance with Article 22c(14) and (15). Member States shall ensure that the results of those surveys are available to the public.

Member States shall ensure that, in order to distinguish between used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use and waste textile, textile-related and footwear products, shipments of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use suspected of being waste may be inspected by the competent authorities of Member States for compliance with the minimum requirements set out in paragraphs 8 and 9 for the shipments of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use and monitored accordingly.

Member States shall ensure that shipments arranged on a professional basis of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use comply with the minimum record-keeping requirements set out in paragraph 9 and are accompanied by at least the following information:

(a) a copy of the invoice and contract relating to the sale or transfer of ownership of the textiles, textile-related and footwear products which states that they are destined for direct re-use and that they are fit for direct re-use;

(b) evidence of a prior sorting operation or direct professional assessment as fit for re-use carried out in accordance with this Article and, where available, the criteria adopted pursuant to Article 6(2), in the form of a copy of the records on every bale within the consignment and a protocol containing all record information according to paragraph 9 of this Article;

(c) a declaration made by the natural or legal person in possession of used textile, textile-related or footwear products assessed as fit for re-use that arranges, on a professional basis, the transport of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use that none of the material within the consignment is waste as defined by Article 3(1).

Member States shall ensure that the shipments referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph are appropriately protected against damage during transportation, loading and unloading, in particular, through sufficient packaging and appropriate stacking of the load, thereby maintaining the integrity and quality of the textiles for re-use throughout the transport process.

Member States shall ensure that shipments of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use comply with the following minimum record-keeping requirements:

(a) the record of the sorting, the direct professional assessment as fit for re-use or the preparing for re-use operations is fixed securely but not permanently on the packaging;

(b) the record contains the following information:
(i) a description of the item or items present in the bale reflecting the most detailed sorting granularity that the textile items have undergone during the sorting or preparing for re-use operations such as type of clothes, size, colour, gender, material composition, and any other relevant characteristics that contribute to efficient re-use;
(ii) the name and address of the company responsible for the final sorting or preparing for re-use.

10.

Member States shall ensure that, where the competent authorities or authorities involved in inspections establish that an intended shipment of used textile, textile-related and footwear products assessed as fit for re-use is suspected of being waste, the costs of appropriate analyses, inspections and storage of used textile, textile-related or footwear products assessed as fit for re-use suspected of being waste may be charged to the producers of textile, textile-related or footwear products listed in Annex IVc, to third parties acting on their behalf or to other persons arranging the shipment.

CHAPTER IV PERMITS AND REGISTRATIONS

Article 23

Issue of permits

Member States shall require any establishment or undertaking intending to carry out waste treatment to obtain a permit from the competent authority.

Such permits shall specify at least the following:

(a) the types and quantities of waste that may be treated;

(b) for each type of operation permitted, the technical and any other requirements relevant to the site concerned;

(d) the method to be used for each type of operation;

(e) such monitoring and control operations as may be necessary;

(f) such closure and after-care provisions as may be necessary.

Permits may be granted for a specified period and may be renewable.

Where the competent authority considers that the intended method of treatment is unacceptable from the point of view of environmental protection, in particular when the method is not in accordance with Article 13, it shall refuse to issue the permit.

It shall be a condition of any permit covering incineration or co-incineration with energy recovery that the recovery of energy take place with a high level of energy efficiency.

Provided that the requirements of this Article are complied with, any permit produced pursuant to other national or Community legislation may be combined with the permit required under paragraph 1 to form a single permit, where such a format obviates the unnecessary duplication of information and the repetition of work by the operator or the competent authority.

Article 24

Exemptions from permit requirements

Member States may exempt from the requirement laid down in Article 23(1) establishments or undertakings for the following operations:

(a) disposal of their own non-hazardous waste at the place of production; or

(b) recovery of waste.

Article 25

Conditions for exemptions

Where a Member State wishes to allow exemptions, as provided for in Article 24, it shall lay down, in respect of each type of activity, general rules specifying the types and quantities of waste that may be covered by an exemption, and the method of treatment to be used.

Those rules shall be designed to ensure that waste is treated in accordance with Article 13. In the case of disposal operations referred to in point (a) of Article 24 those rules should consider best available techniques.

In addition to the general rules provided for in paragraph 1, Member States shall lay down specific conditions for exemptions relating to hazardous waste, including types of activity, as well as any other necessary requirement for carrying out different forms of recovery and, where relevant, the limit values for the content of hazardous substances in the waste as well as the emission limit values.

Member States shall inform the Commission of the general rules laid down pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 26

Registration

Where the following are not subject to permit requirements, Member States shall ensure that the competent authority keeps a register of:

(a) establishments or undertakings which collect or transport waste on a professional basis;

(b) dealers or brokers; and

Where possible, existing records held by the competent authority shall be used to obtain the relevant information for this registration process in order to reduce the administrative burden.

Article 27

Minimum standards

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 38a in order to supplement this Directive by setting out technical minimum standards for treatment activities, including for sorting and recycling of waste, which require a permit pursuant to Article 23 where there is evidence that a benefit in terms of the protection of human health and the environment would be gained from such minimum standards.

Such minimum standards shall cover only those waste treatment activities that are not covered by Directive 96/61/EC or are not appropriate for coverage by that Directive.

Such minimum standards shall:

(a) be directed to the main environmental impacts of the waste treatment activity;

(b) ensure that the waste is treated in accordance with Article 13;

(d) as appropriate, include elements regarding the quality of treatment and the process requirements.

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 38a in order to supplement this Directive by setting out the minimum standards for activities that require registration pursuant to points (a) and (b) of Article 26 where there is evidence that a benefit in terms of the protection of human health and the environment or in avoiding disruption to the internal market would be gained from such minimum standards.

CHAPTER V PLANS AND PROGRAMMES

Article 28

Waste management plans

Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities establish, in accordance with Articles 1, 4, 13 and 16, one or more waste management plans.

Those plans shall, alone or in combination, cover the entire geographical territory of the Member State concerned.

The waste management plans shall set out an analysis of the current waste management situation in the geographical entity concerned, as well as the measures to be taken to improve environmentally sound preparing for re-use, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste and an evaluation of how the plan will support the implementation of the objectives and provisions of this Directive.

The waste management plans shall contain, as appropriate and taking into account the geographical level and coverage of the planning area, at least the following:

(a) the type, quantity and source of waste generated within the territory, the waste likely to be shipped from or to the national territory, and an evaluation of the development of waste streams in the future;

(b) existing major disposal and recovery installations, including any special arrangements for waste oils, hazardous waste, waste containing significant amounts of critical raw materials, or waste streams addressed by specific Union legislation;

(c) an assessment of the need for closure of existing waste installations, and for additional waste installation infrastructure in accordance with Article 16. Member States shall ensure that an assessment of the investments and other financial means, including for local authorities, required to meet those needs is carried out. This assessment shall be included in the relevant waste management plans or in other strategic documents covering the entire territory of the Member State concerned;

(ca) information on the measures to attain the objective laid down in Article 5(3a) of Directive 1999/31/EC or in other strategic documents covering the entire territory of the Member State concerned;

(cb) an assessment of existing waste collection schemes, including the material and territorial coverage of separate collection and measures to improve its operation, of any derogations granted in accordance with Article 10(3), and of the need for new collection schemes;

(d) sufficient information on the location criteria for site identification and on the capacity of future disposal or major recovery installations, if necessary;

(e) general waste management policies, including planned waste management technologies and methods, or policies for waste posing specific management problems;

(f) measures to combat and prevent all forms of littering and to clean up all types of litter;

(g) appropriate qualitative or quantitative indicators and targets, including on the quantity of generated waste and its treatment and on municipal waste that is disposed of or subject to energy recovery.

The waste management plan may contain, taking into account the geographical level and coverage of the planning area, the following:

(a) organisational aspects related to waste management including a description of the allocation of responsibilities between public and private actors carrying out the waste management;

(b) an evaluation of the usefulness and suitability of the use of economic and other instruments in tackling various waste problems, taking into account the need to maintain the smooth functioning of the internal market;

(c) the use of awareness campaigns and information provision directed at the general public or at a specific set of consumers;

(d) historical contaminated waste disposal sites and measures for their rehabilitation.

Waste management plans shall conform to the waste planning requirements laid down in Article 14 of Directive 94/62/EC, to the targets laid down in Article 11(2) and (3) of this Directive and to the requirements laid down in Article 5 of Directive 1999/31/EC, and for the purposes of litter prevention, to the requirements laid down in Article 13 of Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0021]) and Article 11 of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0022]).

Article 29

Waste prevention programmes

Member States shall establish waste prevention programmes setting out at least the waste prevention measures as laid down in Article 9(1) in accordance with Articles 1 and 4.

Such programmes shall be integrated either into the waste management plans required under Article 28 or into other environmental policy programmes, as appropriate, or shall function as separate programmes. If any such programme is integrated into the waste management plan or into those other programmes, the waste prevention objectives and measures shall be clearly identified.

When establishing such programmes, Member States shall, where relevant, describe the contribution of instruments and measures listed in Annex IVa to waste prevention and shall evaluate the usefulness of the examples of measures indicated in Annex IV or other appropriate measures. The programmes shall also describe existing waste prevention measures and their contribution to waste prevention.

The aim of such objectives and measures shall be to break the link between economic growth and the environmental impacts associated with the generation of waste.

2a. Member States shall adopt specific food waste prevention programmes which may be presented as part of their waste prevention programmes.

The Commission shall create a system for sharing information on best practice regarding waste prevention and shall develop guidelines in order to assist the Member States in the preparation of the Programmes.

Article 29a

Food waste prevention programmes

Member States shall evaluate and adapt their food waste prevention programmes, with a view to attaining the targets provided for in Article 9a(4). Those programmes shall at least contain the measures laid down in Article 9(1) and Article 9a(1) and, where relevant, the measures listed in Annexes IV and IVa and shall be communicated to the Commission by 17 October 2027.

Each Member State shall designate the competent authorities responsible for the coordination of the measures to prevent generation of food waste referred to in Article 9a(1) implemented in order to reach the targets set out in Article 9a(4) and inform accordingly the Commission by 17 January 2026. The Commission shall subsequently publish that information on the relevant website.

Article 30

Evaluation and review of plans and programmes

Member States shall ensure that the waste management plans and waste prevention programmes are evaluated at least every sixth year and revised as appropriate and, where relevant, in accordance with Articles 9 and 11.

The European Environment Agency shall publish, every two years, a report containing a review of the progress made in the completion and implementation of waste prevention programmes, including an assessment of the evolution as regards the prevention of waste generation for each Member State and for the Union as a whole, and as regards the decoupling of waste generation from economic growth and the transition towards a circular economy.

Article 31

Public participation

Member States shall ensure that relevant stakeholders and authorities and the general public have the opportunity to participate in the elaboration of the waste management plans and waste prevention programmes, and have access to them once elaborated, in accordance with Directive 2003/35/EC or, if relevant, Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment ([^E0023]). They shall place the plans and programmes on a publicly available website.

Article 32

Cooperation

Member States shall cooperate as appropriate with the other Member States concerned and the Commission to draw up the waste management plans and the waste prevention programmes in accordance with Articles 28 and 29.

Article 33

Information to be submitted to the Commission

Member States shall inform the Commission of the waste management plans and waste prevention programmes referred to in Articles 28 and 29, once adopted, and of any substantial revisions to the plans and programmes.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish the format for notifying the information on the adoption and substantial revisions of the waste management plans and the waste prevention programmes. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2).

CHAPTER VI INSPECTIONS AND RECORDS

Article 34

Inspections

Establishments or undertakings which carry out waste treatment operations, establishments or undertakings which collect or transport waste on a professional basis, brokers and dealers, and establishments or undertakings which produce hazardous waste shall be subject to appropriate periodic inspections by the competent authorities.

Inspections concerning collection and transport operations shall cover the origin, nature, quantity and destination of the waste collected and transported.

Member States may take account of registrations obtained under the Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), in particular regarding the frequency and intensity of inspections.

Article 35

Record keeping

The establishments and undertakings referred to in Article 23(1), the producers of hazardous waste, and the establishments and undertakings which collect or transport hazardous waste on a professional basis, or act as dealers and brokers of hazardous waste, shall keep a chronological record of:

(a) the quantity, nature and origin of that waste and the quantity of products and materials resulting from preparing for re-use, recycling or other recovery operations; and

(b) where relevant, the destination, frequency of collection, mode of transport and treatment method foreseen in respect of the waste.

They shall make that data available to the competent authorities through the electronic registry or registries to be established pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article.

For hazardous waste, the records shall be preserved for at least three years except in the case of establishments and undertakings transporting hazardous waste which must keep such records for at least 12 months.

Documentary evidence that the management operations have been carried out shall be supplied at the request of the competent authorities or of a previous holder.

Member States may require the producers of non-hazardous waste to comply with paragraphs 1 and 2.

Member States shall set up an electronic registry or coordinated registries to record the data on hazardous waste referred to in paragraph 1 covering the entire geographical territory of the Member State concerned. Member States may establish such registries for other waste streams, in particular for those waste streams for which targets are set in legislative acts of the Union. Member States shall use the data on waste reported by industrial operators in the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register set up under Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0024]).

The Commission may adopt implementing acts to establish minimum conditions for the operation of such registries. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2).

Article 36

Enforcement and penalties

Member States shall take the necessary measures to prohibit the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled management of waste, including littering.

Members States shall lay down provisions on the penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

CHAPTER VII FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 37

Reporting

Member States shall report the data concerning the implementation of points (a) to (e) of Article 11(2) and Article 11(3) for each calendar year to the Commission.

They shall report the data electronically within 18 months of the end of the reporting year for which the data are collected. The data shall be reported in the format established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article.

The first reporting period shall start in the first full calendar year after the adoption of the implementing act that establishes the format for reporting, in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article.

For the purposes of verifying compliance with point (b) of Article 11(2), Member States shall report the amount of waste used for backfilling and other material recovery operations separately from the amount of waste prepared for re-use or recycled. Member States shall report the reprocessing of waste into materials that are to be used for backfilling operations as backfilling.

For the purposes of verifying compliance with points (c), (d) and (e) of Article 11(2) and Article 11(3), Member States shall report the amount of waste prepared for re-use separately from the amount of waste recycled.

Member States shall report the data concerning the implementation of Article 9(4) and the data referred to in Article 22c(12), Article 22c(18), point (a), and Article 22c(20) to the European Environment Agency every year. Member States shall report the data concerning the implementation of Article 9a(2) to the Commission every year.

Member States shall report the data on mineral or synthetic lubrication or industrial oils placed on the market and waste oils separately collected and treated for each calendar year to the Commission.

The first reporting period shall start in the first full calendar year after the adoption of the implementing act that establishes the format for reporting, in accordance with paragraph 7.

The data reported by Member States in accordance with this Article shall be accompanied by a quality check report and a report on the measures taken pursuant to Article 11a(3) and (8), including detailed information about the average loss rates where applicable. That information shall be reported in the format for reporting established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article.

5a. Member States shall make the quality check reports related to Article 9a(2) publicly available, after evaluating whether the disclosure would undermine the protection of confidential business information.

The Commission shall review the data reported in accordance with this Article and publish a report on the results of its review. The report shall assess the organisation of the data collection, the sources of data and the methodology used in Member States as well as the completeness, reliability, timeliness and consistency of that data. The assessment may include specific recommendations for improvement. The report shall be drawn up after the first reporting of the data by Member States and every four years thereafter.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the format for reporting the data referred to in paragraphs 1, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article. For the purpose of reporting on the implementation of points (a) and (b) of Article 11(2), Member States shall use the format established in Commission Implementing Decision of 18 April 2012 establishing a questionnaire for Member States reports on the implementation of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste. For the purpose of reporting on food waste, the methodology developed under Article 9a(3) shall be taken into account when developing the format for reporting. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2) of this Directive.

Article 38

The Commission shall organise a regular exchange of information and sharing of best practices among Member States, including, where appropriate, with regional and local authorities, on the practical implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Directive, including on:

(a) the application of the calculation rules set out in Article 11a and the development of measures and systems to trace municipal waste streams from sorting to recycling;

(b) adequate governance, enforcement, cross-border cooperation;

(d) national by-product and end-of-waste criteria, as referred to in Article 5(3) and in Article 6(3) and (4), facilitated by a Union-wide electronic register to be established by the Commission;

(e) the economic instruments and other measures used in accordance with Article 4(3) in order to boost the achievement of the objectives laid down in that Article;

(f) measures laid down in Article 8(1) and (2);

(g) prevention and the setting up of systems which promote re-use activities and the extension of life span;

(h) the implementation of the obligations with regard to separate collection;

(i) the instruments and incentives towards achieving the targets laid down in points (c), (d) and (e) of Article 11(2).

The Commission shall make the results of the exchange of information and sharing of best practices publicly available.

The Commission may develop guidelines for the interpretation of the requirements set out in this Directive, including on the definition of waste, prevention, re-use, preparing for re-use, recovery, recycling, disposal, and on the application of the calculation rules set out in Article 11a.

The Commission shall develop guidelines on the definitions of municipal waste and backfilling.

Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published in the Official Journal of the European Union. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original to this format.

This text is published under EUR-Lex's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence. EUR-Lex
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
© European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union). Reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Only EU legislation published in the printed Official Journal of the European Union is deemed authentic; consolidated texts are reproduced here for documentation purposes and have been reformatted to Markdown.