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Potential exists to reconcile on-going technological and market developments for the recycling of nutrients in a circular economy with the objective of protecting water bodies against pollution originating from livestock manure. The objective of this report is to help define those harmonised criteria that could allow nitrogen (N) fertilisers, partially or entirely derived from manure through processing, to be used in areas subject to the ceiling of 170 kg N/ha/yr prescribed in Annex III of the Nitrates Directive following otherwise identical provisions applied to N containing chemical fertilisers in the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC), while ensuring the achievement the Directive’s objectives and adequate agronomic benefits. Such materials are referred to as REcovered Nitrogen from manURE (RENURE) in this report. This work combines biogeochemical modelling techniques, analytical measurements and quantitative (meta-analysis) and qualitative literature review techniques to assess use impacts of candidate RENURE materials on environmental pollution, including nitrate leaching. The results indicated that processed manure characterised by a ratio of total organic carbon to total N ≤ 3 or a mineral N to total N ratio ≥ 90% may have a similar N leaching potential and agronomic efficiency to Haber-Bosch derived and equivalent chemical N fertilisers. In particular, nitrogen-rich processed manure materials, such as scrubbing salts, mineral concentrates, and liquid digestates obtained through centrifugation and/or advanced solids removal might be able to meet these requirements. To comply with the objectives of environmental protection, it is, however, necessary to combine the use of RENURE with good management practices, including the use of living plant covers or equivalent measures, low NH3 emission application techniques and good RENURE storage conditions. Altogether, this report proposes a set of material and use requirements to enable the safe use of RENURE in areas with water pollution by nitrogen, in amounts above the threshold established by the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC). It is concluded that the possible implementation of RENURE as part of manure management systems enables a progression towards a more circular economy and an avenue for increased resource efficiency in the EU food production system., JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership

The transition to a more circular economy is essential to develop a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient, and competitive economy in the EU. In this context Critical Raw Materials (CRM) are defined as those which are of particularly great importance to the EU economy and at the same time there is a high risk of supply disruptions. First and foremost, improving the circular use of CRM is a key strategy in improving the security of supply and not surprisingly is an objective of various policy documents. This report delivers on action #39 of the Circular Economy Action Plan: "Sharing of best practice for the recovery of critical raw materials from mining waste and landfills". It builds on discussions held during two 2018 workshops and gathers together six examples of existing practices for the recovery of critical, precious, and other materials from extractive waste and landfills, highlighting technological innovation and contributions that have been made to a more comprehensive knowledge-base on raw materials. The report also provides various estimates of potential recovery of certain materials compared to their current demand. Lessons learnt from the practices include awareness that it is very unlikely that recovery processes can target one or just a few specific materials of great interest and disregard other elements or bulk matrixes. Especially in case of very low concentrations, most of the mineral resources and other bulk materials in which they are embedded must be valorised in order to increase economic viability and minimise waste disposal. As recovery processes can be very energy intensive, environmental and land use related aspects are also particularly relevant even though environmental gains may also occur and, moreover, land space can be liberated and reused for new purposes and services. Finally, availability of data and information on secondary materials as well as a harmonized legislative framework within the EU appear to be crucial for the large-scale deployment of recovery practices., JRC.D.3-Land Resources

The European Commission has recently revised the EU legislation on fertilisers, expanding its scope to secondary-raw-material-based fertilising products, and resulting in the publication of the new EU Fertilising Products Regulation ((EU) 2019/1009). This report explores a possible legal framework for the manufacturing and placing on the market of specific safe and effective fertilising products derived from biogenic wastes and other secondary raw materials. Specifically, three categories of fertilising materials have been evaluated: precipitated phosphate salts & derivates; thermal oxidation materials & derivates; pyrolysis & gasification materials. The report contains technical proposals on eligible input materials, process conditions, quality requirements as well as quality management system requirements. The proposals might form the basis for the legal requirements that those candidate materials shall comply with if they become regulated under the new legislative framework. Additionally, the report assesses the possible impacts in order to shed a light on the added value that these fertilising materials could provide for food security, food safety, environmental protection, and the European fertilising and agricultural sector., JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership

This report is a background document used by several European Commission services to prepare the EC report on critical raw materials and the circular economy, a commitment of the European Commission made in its Communication ‘EU action plan for the Circular Economy’. It represents a JRC contribution to the Raw Material Initiative and to the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. It combines the results of several research programmes and activities of the JRC on critical raw materials in a context of circular economy, for which a large team has contributed in terms of data and knowledge developments. Circular use of critical raw materials in the EU is analysed, also taking a sectorial perspective. The following sectors are analysed in more detail: mining waste, landfills, electric and electronic equipment, batteries, automotive, renewable energy, defence and chemicals and fertilisers. Conclusions and opportunities for further work are also presented., JRC.D.3-Land Resources

The present study describes the state-of-play of incineration and other waste management options for different wastes in the EU, provides an assessment of proven and emerging techniques for increased energy recovery in waste-to-energy processes and concludes with an outlook of possible evolutions in the EU's waste-to-energy landscape. An analysis of statistical data from Eurostat, enhanced with input from various industrial federations, revealed that merely six types of wastes are responsible for the lion's share of energy embedded in all the waste currently sent to incineration and/or landfill. They include in particular household and similar waste as well as sorting residues, which jointly account for nearly four fifths of the energy contained in all landfilled waste, and which together with wood waste comprise almost two thirds of the energy contained in all waste sent for incineration. Techniques for improving energy recovery were discussed for each of the five main categories of waste-to-energy processes: combustion plants, waste incineration plants, cement and lime kilns, anaerobic digestion plants and others. Figures from 2013/2014 showed that the three middle categories accounted together for an estimated total of 676 PJ annual mixed energy outputs from waste. Using the technical options available today, and without taking into account any possible changes to the types and amounts of waste currently sent for energy recovery, this value could be increased by more than a quarter. However, future developments in waste generation and waste management may possibly lead to an increase of energy recovery by incineration for household and similar waste as well as for sorting residues, an increase in energy recovery by anaerobic digestion for animal and vegetal wastes and a decrease of the amounts sent for energy recovery for several other wastes, including source separated wastes such as wood waste., JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership

This technical report is aimed at providing a sound base to the revision process of the EU Ecolabel criteria for Soil improvers and Growing Media. Currently, separate sets of EU Ecolabel criteria exist for Soil improvers (Decision 2006/799/EC) and Growing media (Decision 2007/64/EC). The revision process spanned both product groups; thus common criteria for both Soil improvers and Growing media are developed, only distinguishing between technical product characteristics where necessary. Another objective of this revision is addressing the possibility to broaden the current scope to the product mulch, as it has been identified as a differentiated sub-product within the product group 'soil improvers'. To achieve those objectives, a Preliminary Report was produced together with the first version of this technical report as a working document. Hence, this document was developed to undergo the stakeholder consultation, which is crucial to come up with criteria adapted to the market reality while being able to select the best environmental performance products available on the market. After an extensive stakeholder's consultation process, this current version of the Technical Report supporting the draft criteria for growing media, soil improvers and mulch, constitutes the support of the criteria set voted positive by the Regulatory Committee., JRC.J.5-Sustainable Production and Consumption

On 9 October 2011, Council Regulation 333/2011 came into force establishing criteria by which scrap from iron and steel, aluminium and aluminium alloys could cease to be regulated as waste. This study examines the impacts of the Regulation on scrap availability, trade flows, prices, administrative requirements and environment or human health incidents. Because no data currently distinguishes between waste and end-of-waste compliant scrap, information was collected from the EU Competent Authorities and industry using detailed surveys. Across Europe, approximately 250 companies provided responses to the industry survey (representing approximately one quarter of the membership of the scrap industry associations), with a further 15 submissions from industry associations and 25 from Competent Authorities, although the survey responses were notably skewed towards Italy. The results of the study show that more than 1,100 scrap industry companies are already using the end-of-waste criteria across Europe. Uptake is most pronounced in Italy, where over 1,000 scrap companies generate end-of-waste compliant scrap. This rapid uptake in Italy is due in part to a specific legal framework on secondary raw materials already in place before the introduction of the end-of-waste criteria. In the rest of Europe there are a further 100 scrap companies active in end-of-waste scrap. In terms of the quantity of end-of-waste compliant scrap available on the market, this study estimates that, as a lower bound, at least 15% of EU scrap steel and 10% of EU scrap aluminium is compliant. Importantly, this study has found almost no evidence that end-of-waste has caused any negative impacts on the market, whether that be to scrap quality, availability/trade or on the environment. On the contrary, quite a number of the survey participants, both from industry and Competent Authorities highlighted the perceived benefits of the introduction of end-of-waste for metal scrap. These perceived benefits include: creating a simplified regulatory framework and offering companies greater flexibility and legal certainty. Some companies identified improved scrap quality and increased sales prices. At the expert workshop participants debated several ideas for a future monitoring system. One key conclusion was that there is no urgent need to revisit monitoring in the near future, due to the relatively modest rate of uptake outside Italy and the very few, if any, negative impacts observed so far. A repeat of the industry and authorities’ surveys in 2-3 years times was deemed to be the most appropriate way to monitor end-of-waste for scrap metal, and copper scrap could be added to the scope of that exercise., JRC.J.5-Sustainable Production and Consumption

This report provides a methodology proposal for establishing limit values for pollutants in waste-derived aggregates with a view of using such aggregates in a wide variety of construction projects, as part of possible end-of-waste criteria for aggregates in accordance with Article 6 of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). More specifically, the study centres on aggregate substances that are subject to leaching and/or release through wear. The report focuses on identifying and assessing the pollution risks of using aggregates derived from waste, on reviewing how the use of aggregates is regulated today in the EU with respect to avoiding pollution, on assessing the need for including limit values for pollutants in end-of-waste criteria, on assessing the suitability of different types of pollutant limit values, on identifying and assessing the different methodological approaches for deriving pollutant limit values and on identifying the most suitable testing approaches and methods, including simplified modes of compliance., JRC.J.5-Sustainable Production and Consumption

This report describes work conducted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in the context of an Administrative Arrangement between DG Environment and the JRC. This work aimed at the generation, within a limited timeframe, of a large amount of analytical data, with high scientific and statistical value, for a number of compost and digestate types (afterwards referred to as COMDIG samples), to help provide a general overview and estimation of that possible variability within and between different COMDIG materials. The report includes the results of a targeted and independent screening of typical European situations of COMDIG materials with regard to the occurrence and levels of compounds of concern, many of which have never been assessed at a pan-European level. In total, 139 samples, mostly taken as grab samples and originating from 15 countries, were assessed for 22 minor and trace elements and 92 organic compounds including ingredients of personal care products and pharmaceuticals. The underlying analytical methods are carefully documented with regard to their performance characteristics. Where available, the so-called “horizontal” standards were followed. The results obtained are assessed statistically. Although the analysed single samples are insufficient to make any statement on the performance of the treatment processes leading to COMDIG samples, this collective of data provide a glimpse of the pan-European situation as regards the studied compounds., JRC.H.1-Water Resources

This report is the JRC-IPTS contribution to the development of the end-of-waste criteria for glass cullet in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste (the Waste Framework Directive). This report includes a possible set of end-of-waste criteria and shows how the proposals were developed based on a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of glass recycling and an analysis of the economic, environmental and legal impacts when glass cullet ceases to be waste. The purpose of end-of-waste criteria is to avoid confusion about the waste definition and to clarify when certain waste that has undergone recovery ceases to be waste. Recycling should be supported by creating legal certainty and an equal level playing field and by removing unnecessary administrative burdens. The end-of-waste criteria should provide a high level of environmental protection and an environmental and economic benefit., JRC.J.5-Sustainable Production and Consumption

The present study identifies, describes and assesses in detail opportunities and threats for the Circular Economy arising from E-commerce. A broad literature research and direct stakeholder input led to the identification of 18 opportunities and 23 threats for the Circular Economy, allocated to 7 different clusters. Most of the identified threats refer to “Logistics and transport”, while opportunities refer mainly to the topics “Accessibility of information” and “Digitalisation”. By means of a comparative assessment in the current situation and future optimistic and pessimistic potential developments, the direct and indirect effects of the opportunities and threats have been evaluated, with specific focus on 7 selected product categories. In total, 11 opportunities and 16 threats have been assessed as either medium or highly relevant. The assessment revealed that most of the threats classified as highly relevant belong to the cluster “Logistics and transport”, including induced parcel transport, parcel return and inefficient transport, while most of the highly relevant opportunities are to be found in the cluster “Accessibility of information”, as in the case of second-hand commerce or product portfolio., JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership

Based on data (from the years 2014-2018) included in this study’s mass flow model, a current annual production of 3.8 million tonnes of recyclate is estimated for a set of identified priority products. This falls short of the EU target of 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics to be used annually in the EU by 2025. An analysis of 25 industry-led design-for-recycling guidelines (24 for packaging and one for EEE) shows that: most provide a matrix or checklist with restrictions, requirements or targets for specific product features to increase recyclability; many use a three-choice classification system; and some provide a logo or label for compliance. Key success factors for design-for-recycling guidelines include: holistic, transparent, precise and consistent guidelines developed in cooperation with the whole value chain; striking a balance between an EU-wide harmonised approach and respecting country specificities; and the use of certification or labels for products complying with guidelines. It is recommended that the CPA contribute to establishing a holistic and harmonised approach to guideline development, including regular updating, an enhanced testing process and greater consistency and clarity. In parallel, the CPA should continue promoting the use of guidelines, to increase their uptake throughout the value chain., JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership