Ashes, slags and gypsum: new rules on when combustion waste ceases to be waste

On 16 November 2022 a regulation of the Minister of Climate and Environment setting out the conditions under which combustion waste ceases to be waste was published in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U. 2022, item 2330). The rules will apply from 1 December 2022 and concern materials generated in the power and heating sector, above all ashes, slags and flue gas desulphurisation products. This is an important element of the circular economy: once a material meets the criteria, it can be placed on the market as a product, not as waste.

What is changing

Waste status ceases when the conditions set out in § 3 of the regulation are met cumulatively:

• the waste has been subjected to recovery in process R5 (recycling or reclamation of other inorganic materials) or R12 (exchange of wastes for submission to any of the operations R1–R11),
• the resulting material is used for one of the specified purposes: production of cement, concrete and binders, sub-bases, aggregates, bound and unbound mixtures, earthworks; synthetic gypsum for construction products; fertilisers and soil improvers,
• the quality criteria contained in the annexes are met (separately for construction uses, gypsum and fertilisers, in the latter case the fertiliser rules or Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 respectively),
• the material does not cause a direct threat or harm to the environment,
• the batch has been tested.

Samples are taken and tested by an accredited laboratory commissioned by the waste holder, in accordance with at least the PN-EN 14899 standard. The test report is kept for five years. A declaration of conformity is issued for each batch and shown on request to the voivodeship environmental protection inspector (WIOŚ). The waste holder must also operate a documented management system covering process monitoring, product conformity control, review and training. This part enters into force six months after publication.

Significance for the industry in Poland

Although the regulation concerns the power sector, it has wider consequences for waste management. First, it facilitates the use of ashes and gypsum in construction, which reduces the amount of waste landfilled. Second, it brings into circulation an end-of-waste mechanism based on batch testing and declarations of conformity, similar to that used in other fields, e.g. for composts and fertilisers. Third, the use in fertilisers and soil improvers links this stream to the fertiliser market, in which digestate producers also operate.

For biomass combustion installations and boilers in heating plants it is also an incentive to put ash management in order: if the composition meets the requirements, the ash can find use as a product rather than a burden.

What next

Plants should prepare testing procedures, choose a laboratory and determine which batches meet the criteria. It is worth paying attention to the management system obligation, which will start to apply in mid-2023. The next steps will be the practice of environmental protection inspectorate inspections and the development of the market of buyers of recycled materials.