EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2012) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX  
establishing criteria determining when glass cullet ceases to be waste under Directive 
2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
  
EN 1   EN COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX 
establishing criteria determining when gl ass cullet ceases to be waste under Directive 
2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  Having regard to Directive 2008/98/EC of the Eu ropean Parliament and of the Council of 19 
November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives
1 and in particular Article 6 (2) 
thereof, 
Whereas: (1) It results from an evaluation of several wa ste streams that recycling markets for glass 
cullet would benefit from the development of  specific criteria determining when glass 
cullet obtained from waste ceases to be wast e. Those criteria should ensure a high 
level of environmental protection. Th ey should be without prejudice to the 
classification of glass cullet as waste by third countries. 
(2) Reports of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission have shown that a 
market and demand exist for glass cullet to be  used as feedstock in the glass producing 
industry. Glass cullet should therefore be  sufficiently pure and meet the relevant 
standards or specifications require d by the glass producing industry. 
(3) The criteria determining when glass cullet c ease to be waste should ensure that cullet 
resulting from a recovery operation meet the technical requirements of the glass 
producing industry, comply with existing le gislation and standa rds applicable to 
products and do not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts. 
Reports of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission have shown that the proposed criteria on the waste used as input in the recovery operation, on the 
treatment processes and techniques, as well as on the glass cullet resulting from the recovery operation fulfil those objectives as  they should result in the generation of 
cullet devoid of hazardous properties and sufficiently free of non-glass components. 
(4) In order to ensure compliance with the criteria, it is appropriate to provide that 
information on glass cullet which has ceased  to be waste is issued and that a 
management system is implemented. 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3.  
EN 2   EN (5) In order to allow operators to adapt to the criteria determining when glass cullet ceases 
to be waste, it is appropriate to provide fo r a reasonable period to elapse before this 
Regulation applies. 
(6) The measures provided for in this Regulati on are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee established by Article  39 of Directive 2008/98/EC, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Subject matter 
This Regulation establishes crit eria determining when glass cu llet destined for the production 
of glass substances or objects in re-m elting processes cease to be waste. 
Article 2 
Definitions 
For the purposes of this Regulation, the defini tions set out in Dir ective 2008/98/EC shall 
apply . 
In addition, the following definitions shall apply: 1. 'glass cullet' means cullet generated from the recovery of waste glass; 
2. 'holder' means the natural or legal pers on who is in possession of glass cullet; 
3. 'producer' means the holder who transfers gl ass cullet to another holder for the first 
time as glass cullet which has ceased to be waste; 
4. 'importer' means any natural or legal person established within the Union who 
introduces glass cullet which has ceased to be  waste into the customs territory of the 
Union; 
5. 'qualified staff' means staff which is qualif ied by experience or training to monitor 
and assess the proper ties of glass cullet; 
6. 'visual inspection' means inspection of glass cullet coveri ng all parts of a 
consignment and using human senses or any non-specialised equipment;  
7. 'consignment' means a batch of glass cullet  which is intended for delivery from a 
producer to another holder and may be contai ned in either one or several transport 
units, such as containers. 
Article 3 
Criteria for glass cullet  
EN 3   EN Glass cullet shall cease to be waste where, upon transfer from the producer to another holder, 
all of the following conditions are fulfilled: 
1. the cullet resulting from the recovery operatio n complies with the criteria set out in 
Section 1 of Annex I; 
2. the waste used as input for the recovery ope ration complies with the criteria set out in 
Section 2 of Annex I; 
3. the waste used as input for the recovery  operation has been treated in accordance 
with the criteria set out in Section 3 of Annex I; 
4. the producer has satisfied the requirem ents set out in Articles 4 and 5; 
5. the glass cullet is destined for the production of glass subs tances or objects in re-
melting processes. 
Article 4 
Statement of conformity 
1. The producer or the importer shall issue, for each consig nment of glass cullet, a 
statement of conformity conforming to the model set out in Annex II. 
2. The producer or the importer shall transmit th e statement of conformity to the next 
holder of the glass cullet co nsignment. The producer or the importer shall retain a 
copy of the statement of conformity for at least one year after its date of issue and 
shall make it available to co mpetent authorities upon request. 
3. The statement of conformity may be in electronic form. 
Article 5 
Management system 
1. The producer shall implement a manageme nt system suitable to demonstrate 
compliance with the criteria referred to in Article 3. 
2. The management system shall include a se t of documented procedures concerning 
each of the following aspects: 
(a) monitoring of the quality of glass cullet resulting from the recovery operation 
as set out in Section 1 of Annex I (including sampling and analysis); 
(b) acceptance control of waste used as input for the recovery operation as set out 
in Section 2 of Annex I; 
(c) monitoring of the treatment processes a nd techniques described in Section 3 of 
Annex I; 
(d) feedback from customers concerning compliance with glass cullet quality;  
EN 4   EN (e) record keeping of the results of monito ring conducted under points (a) to (c); 
(f) review and improvement of the management system; 
(g) training of staff. 
3. The management system shall also prescrib e the specific monitoring requirements set 
out in Annexes I for each criterion. 
4. A conformity assessment body, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 765/20082 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council,  which has obtained accreditation in 
accordance with that Regulation, or an envi ronmental verifier, as defined in Art 2 
(20) (b) of Regulation (EC) No 1221/20093 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council, which is accredited or licensed in  accordance with th at Regulation, shall 
verify that the management system complie s with the requirements of this Article. 
The verification shall be carried out ever y three years. Only verifiers with the 
following scopes of accreditation or licen ce based on the NACE Codes as specified 
in Regulation (EC) No 1893/20064 of the European Parlia ment and of the Council 
are regarded to have sufficient specifi c experience to perform the verification 
mentioned in this Regulation: 
– * NACE Code 38 (Waste collection, treatme nt and disposal activities; material 
recovery); or 
– * NACE Code 23.1 (Manufacture of  glass and glass products). 
5. The importer shall require his suppliers to implement a management system which 
complies with the requirements of paragraphs  1, 2 and 3 of this Article and has been 
verified by an independent external verifier. 
The management system of the supplier sh all be certified by a conformity assessment 
body which is accredited byan accreditation body successfully peer evaluated for this 
activity by the body recognised in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) 765/2008; or by an 
environmental verifier which is accredite d or licensed byan accr editation or licensing 
body according to Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 which is also subject to peer evaluation according to Article 31 of that Regulation, respectively. 
Verifiers who want to operate in third c ountries must obtain a specific accreditation 
or licence, in accordance with the specifi cations laid down in Regulation (EC) No 
765/2008 or Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 together with Commission Decision 
2011/832/EU
5. 
6. The producer shall give competent author ities access to the management system 
upon request. 
                                                 
2 OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. 
3 OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 1. 
4 OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
5 OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 25.  
EN 5   EN Article 6 
Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into  force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of  the European Union . 
It shall apply from […] 2012. [ Please insert a specific date; transitional period 6 month after 
publication ] 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission 
 The President 
EN 6   EN ANNEX I  
Criteria for glass cullet  
Criteria Self-monitoring requirements 
Section 1. Quality of glass cullet re sulting from the recovery operation  
1.1 The glass cullet shall comply w ith a customer specification, an 
industry specification or a stan dard for direct use in the 
production of glass substances or objects by re-melting in glass manufacturing facilities. Qualified staff shall verify that each consignment complies with the 
appropriate specification.
 
1.2 The content of the following non-glass components shall be: 
• Ferrous metals: <  50 ppm; 
• Non-ferrous metals: < 60 ppm; 
• Non-metal non-glass inorganics: 
< 100 ppm for glass cullet size > 1mm; 
< 1500 ppm for glass cullet size <  1 mm; 
• Organics: <  2000 ppm. 
 
Examples of non-metal non-glass inor ganics are: ceramics, stones, 
porcelain, pyro-ceramics. 
Examples of organics are: paper,  rubber, plastic,  fabrics, wood. Qualified staff shall carry out a visu al inspection of each consignment. 
At appropriate intervals and subject to  review if significant changes in 
the operating process are made, repres entative samples of glass cullet 
shall be analysed gravimetricall y to measure the total non-glass 
components. The non-glass component content shall be analysed by weighing after mechanical or manua l (as appropriate ) separation of 
materials under careful visual inspection. 
The appropriate frequencies of monitoring by sampling shall be 
established taking into acc ount the following factors: 
• The expected pattern of variabi lity (for example as shown by 
historical results). 
• The inherent risk of variability in the quality of waste glass used as 
input for the recovery operation and any subsequent processing. Pre-
consumer waste glass with a hi ghly predictable composition needs 
likely less frequent monitoring. Wa ste glass from multi-material  
EN 7   EN collection may need more frequent monitoring. 
• The inherent precision of the monitoring method. 
• The proximity of results of the non-glass component content to the 
limits indicated above. 
The process of determining mo nitoring frequencies should be 
documented as part of the management system and should be available for auditing. 
1.3 The glass cullet shall not displa y any of the hazardous properties 
listed in Annex III to Direct ive 2008/98/EC. The glass cullet 
shall comply with the concentration limits laid down in Commission Decision 2000/532/EC
6, and not exceed the 
concentration limits laid down in Annex IV of Regulation 
850/2004/EC7 of the European Parlia ment and of the Council. 
 Qualified staff shall carry out a visual inspection of each consignment. 
Where visual inspection raises any suspicion of possible hazardous 
properties, further appropriate monitoring measures shall be taken, such as sampling and testing where appropriate. 
The staff shall be traine d on potential hazardous properties that may be 
associated with glass cullet and on ma terial components or features that 
allow recognising the hazardous properties. 
The procedure of recognising hazardous  materials shall be documented 
under the management system. 
Section 2. Waste used as i nput for the recovery operation  
2.1 Only waste from the collection of recoverable c ontainer glass, 
flat glass or lead-free tablew are may be used as input. The 
collected waste glass may uni ntentionally contain minor  
 
                                                 
6 OJ L 226, 6.9.2000, p. 3. 
7 OJ L L 229, 30.4.2004, p. 1.  
EN 8   EN amounts of other glass types. 
2.2 Glass-containing waste from mi xed municipal solid waste or 
health care waste shall not be used as an input. 
2.3 Hazardous waste shall not be used as an input. Acceptance control of all glass-cont aining waste received (by visual 
inspection) and of the accompanying documentation shall be carried out 
by qualified staff who are trained on how to recognise glass-containing 
waste that does not meet the cr iteria set out in this Section. 
 
Section 3. Treatment processes and techniques  
3.1 The glass-containing waste shall have been collected, separated 
and processed, and from that moment shall permanently have been kept separate from any other waste. 
3.2 All treatments such as: crushi ng, sorting, separa ting, or cleaning, 
needed to prepare the cullet for di rect use (via re-melting) in the 
production of glass substances or objects shall have been 
completed.   
EN 9   EN Annex II 
Statement of Conformity with the end-of-w aste criteria referred to in Article 4(1)  
1. Producer/importer of  the glass cullet: 
Name: Address: Contact person: Telephone: Fax: E-mail: 
2. a) Name or code of the glass cullet categor y in accordance with an industry specification 
or standard:  
b) Main technical provisions of the i ndustry specification or standard, including 
compliance with EoW product quality requir ements for non-glass components, i.e. 
content of ferrous metals, non-ferrous me tals, non-metal/non-glass inorganics and 
organics: 
 
3. The glass cullet consignment complies with  the industry specification or standard 
referred to in Point 2. 
4. Quantity of the consignment in kg: 
5. The producer of the glass cu llet applies a management system complying with the 
requirements of Regulation (EU) No… [will be inserted once the regulation adopted], which has been verified by an accredite d conformity assessment body or by an 
environmental verifier or, where glass cullet  which has ceased to be waste is imported 
into the customs territory of the Uni on, by an independent external verifier. 
6. The glass cullet consignment meets the criteria referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 
3 of Regulation (EU) No …[will be inserted once this regulation adopted] . 
7. The material in this consignment is intended exclusively for direct use in the production 
of glass substances or object s in re-melting processes. 
8. 
 
 Declaration of the producer/i mporter of the glass cullet: 
I certify that the above information is comple te and correct and to my best knowledge: 
Name:  Date:   
EN 10   EN Signature: