Towards ‘secondary raw material’ as a legal category

Abstract

The paper seeks to examine the role of categorisation for circular economy by investigating the concept and definition of waste and waste management. In this paper, not only the legal interpretation provided by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and legal scholars will be considered, but also economic analysis for an improved taxonomy of waste and resources (also referred to as ‘secondary raw material’). The broad concept of waste as developed by the CJEU as well as the uncertainty of end-of-waste-status-criteria create a major obstacle. The paper thus seeks to provide an alternative to the existing categories based on a more purposive approach that acknowledges the potential of resources more adequately. It provides an additional concept to waste within the legal framework and thereby acknowledges the role of categorisation as a driver for circular economy.