No C 295/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 88 
Proposal for a Council Directive on hazardous waste 
COM(88) 399 final — SYN 165 
(Submitted by the Commission on 16 August 1988) 
(88/C 295/04) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas any disparity between the laws of the Member 
States on the disposal of hazardous waste can distort the 
conditions of competition and thereby directly affect the 
establishment and functioning of the internal market; 
whereas it is therefore necessary to approximate laws in 
this field; 
Whereas Council Directive 78/319/EEC of 20 March 
1978 on toxic and dangerous waste (x) established 
Community rules on the disposal of hazardous waste; 
whereas, in order to take account of experience gained 
in the implementation of that Directive by the Member 
States, it is necessary to amend the rules and to replace 
Directive 78/319/EEC by this Directive; 
Whereas the action programme of the European 
Communities on thex environment, which was the subject 
of the Resolution of 19 October 1987 of the Council of 
the European Communities and of the representatives of 
the Governments of the Member States, meeting within 
the Council, on the continuation and implementation of 
a European Community policy and action programme on 
the environment (1987 to 1992) (2), provides for 
Community measures to improve the conditions under 
which hazardous wastes are disposed of; 
Whereas the Commission's proposal takes as a base a 
high level of environmental protection with as much 
regard to the definition as to the disposal of hazardous 
waste; Whereas it is necessary, in order to improve the effi­
ciency of the management of hazardous waste in the 
Community, to use a precise and uniform definition of 
hazardous waste based on experience; 
Whereas the general rules applying to waste disposal, 
which are laid down by Council Directive 
75/442/EEC (3), as amended by Directive ..., also apply 
to the disposal of hazardous waste; 
Whereas the correct disposal of hazardous waste 
necessitates additional, more stringent rules to take 
account of the special nature of such waste; whereas it is 
necessary to ensure that disposal, and in particular 
transport, of this waste is monitored in the fullest 
manner possible; 
Whereas when Member States charge levies on the 
monies used to cover the cost of disposing of hazardous 
waste following the 'polluter pays' principle, the yield 
thereof may be used, among other things, for financing 
supervisory measures relating to hazardous waste as well 
as financing research pertaining to the elimination of 
hazardous waste; 
Whereas the data currently available on the qualitative 
and quantitative aspects of waste management is wholly 
inadequate; whereas it is therefore necessary to establish 
at Community level a system of mutual information on 
quantities of hazardous waste and the methods of 
correct disposal of this waste; 
Whereas it must be possible rapidly to adapt the 
provisions of this Directive to technical progress and 
whereas the Committee on the adaptation to technical 
progress set up by Directive 75/442/EEC must also be 
empowered to adapt the provisions of this Directive to 
technical progress; 
Whereas Council Directive 84/631/EEC of 6 December 
1984 on the supervision and control within the European 
Community of the transfrontier shipment of hazardous 
waste (4), which lays down common rules for trans­
frontier movements of such waste, refers in several 
Articles to Directive 78/319/EEC and whereas it is 
(*) OJ No L 84, 31. 3. 1978, p. 43. 
(2) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1. O OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 47. 
(4) OJ No L 326, 13. 12. 1985, p. 31. 
19. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 295/9 
therefore necessary to make amendments of form to the 
text of Directive 84/631/EEC in order to incorporate 
explicit references to the corresponding provisions of this 
Directive, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
1. The object of this Directive is to approximate the 
laws of the Member States on the controlled disposal of 
hazardous waste. 
2. For the purposes of this Directive: 
'hazardous waste' means: 
— any waste falling within one of the categories or 
types of Waste specified in Annex I A, unless it can be 
proved to have none of the properties listed in Annex 
III; 
— any waste falling within one of the categories 
specified in Annex I B and containing one of the 
substances or materials listed in Annex II, unless it 
can be proved to have none of the properties listed in 
Annex III; 
— any other waste displaying any of the properties 
listed in Annex III. 
Article 2 
Hazardous waste covered by specific Community rules 
shall be excluded from the scope of this Directive. 
Article 3 
Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
prohibit the uncontrolled abandonment, discharge, 
disposal and transport of hazardous waste. 
Article 4 
Member States shall take the necessary measures to: 
— prohibit the mixing of hazardous wastes with other 
wastes, substances or materials in the course of 
the disposal operations except for the purposes of 
Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC or for the 
purpose of improving safety during disposal; 
— require that hazardous waste be kept separate from 
other waste during disposal operations where this is 
necessary for technical reasons; 
— require that on every site used for the depositing of 
hazardous waste the waste be identified and 
recorded. Article 5 
1. The provisions of Article 8 of Directive 
75/442/EEC on permits shall apply to any establishment 
or undertaking which treats hazardous wastes, including 
those carrying out the operations specified in Annex II B 
to Directive 75/442/EEC. 
2. Member States may require establishments or 
undertakings which collect and/or transport hazardous 
waste to obtain a permit. The permit issued for such 
transport operations by a Member State shall be 
recognized by other Member States without further 
requirements. 
Article 6 
Any person producing or holding hazardous waste 
without the permit referred to in Article 5 shall as soon 
as possible have such waste disposed of by an estab­
lishment or undertaking authorized or supervised by the 
competent authorities. 
Article 7 
1. Any establishment or undertaking which produces, 
holds or disposes of hazardous waste shall: 
— be subject to regular inspections by the competent 
authorities; 
— keep a record of the quantity, nature, physical and 
chemical characteristics and origin of such waste, and 
of the methods and sites used for disposing of the 
waste, including the date of receipt and surrender; 
— supply this information to the competent authorities 
on request. 
2. Documentary evidence that the disposal operations 
have been carried out shall be kept for a least two years. 
This evidence shall, where necessary, be sent to the 
competent authorities of the Member State concerned. 
Article 8 
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
ensure that the following conditions are met in the 
course of collection, transport and temporary storage: 
(a) the waste is properly packaged; 
(b) the containers carry appropriate labels stating the 
nature, composition and quantity of the waste and 
the telephone number(s) of the person(s) to be 
contacted in case of necessity; 
(c) instructions are supplied with the waste regarding the 
procedure to be followed in the event of danger or 
accident. 
l^oC^BtO Official journal of the European Communities r^ M ^ 
^. The conditions set out in paragraph 1 shall be 
deemedtoha^e been met inthe case of transport operD 
ations where a Member State applies equivalent 
provisions under theinternational transport contentions 
listed in Anne^ 11 to Loirecti^e ^BD^tBEEC to which 
the^ are part^ provided that those contentions co^er 
hazardous waste. 
^. The inspections provided for in ArticleB^regarding 
collection and transport operations shall co^er in 
particulars 
— the technical requirements concerning the ^ehicles^ 
— training for the drivers or persons responsible for the 
transport operations. 
The inspection procedures must be equivalent to the 
provisions applicable to the carriage of hazardous goods 
laid down in the international transport contentions 
listed in Anne^ 11 tofoirecti^e^BD^tBEEC^ 
^t. ^here hazardous waste is transferred for the 
purpose of disposal it shall be accompanied b^ an identP 
ficationformcontaining thedetails specified in Section 
AofAnne^ltolOirecti^e^BDoUBEEC. 
In accordance with the^polluterpa^principle^ the cost 
of disposing of hazardous wasted less an^ proceeds from 
reuse or reclamations shall be borne b^ 
— the holder who consigns the waste to an undertaking 
or establishment which carries out waste disposals 
— andBor the previous holders or the producer of the 
product which ga^e rise to the waste. 
t. The competent authorities of the Member States 
shall draw up and keep up to date plans for the disposal 
of hazardous waste.Theplans^shallco^erinparticular^ 
— the t^pes and quantities of waste to be disposed of^ 
— the methods of disposals 
— the authorized disposal sites and centres^ 
— the technical standards and requirements laid down^ 
— disused tips and contaminated sites which need to be 
kept under surveillance or reclaimed. 
The competent authorities ma^ include other specific 
aspects^ including the estimated cost of the disposal 
operations. 
^. The competent authorities shall make public the 
plans referred to in paragraph t. Member States shall 
transmit these plans to the Commission b^ 1 ]anuar^ ^5 The Commission shall compare these disposal 
plans^andinparticularthemethodsof disposalandthe 
technical standards laid down, ^here necessary the 
Commission shall prepare proposals to harmonize the 
technicaldisposal standards. 
In cases of emergenc^orgra^e dangers Member States 
shall take all necessary steps^ including^ where approD 
priate^ temporary derogations from this Loirecti^ to 
ensure that hazardous waste is so dealt with as not to 
constituteathreat to the population or the environment. 
The Member States shall inform the Commission of such 
derogations. 
t. E^er^ three ^ears^ and for the first time on 1 
Septembers t^O^ Member States shall send the 
Commission a report on the measures taken to 
implement thisfoirecti^e.rhisreportshallbedrawnup 
as part of the report provided for in Article t^pt^ of 
Poirecti^e ^B^^BEEC in accordance with the 
procedureslaiddowntherein. 
^. Cm the basis of the reports referred to in paraD 
graph n die Commission shall publish a consolidated 
report as part of the report provided for in Articlet^^ 
of Loirecti^e ^B^^BEEC in accordance with the 
procedureslaiddowntherein. 
^. In additions b^ljanuar^l^l theMember States 
shall send the Commission the following information for 
e^er^establishmentorundertakingholdingapermit^ 
— name and address^ 
— the method used to treat the wasted 
— the t^pes of waste which can be treated^ 
— the scale of charges for treatments 
— the nature of waste resulting f^om the treatments 
— operating data such as^ 
— the actual quantity of waste treated during the 
^ear^ 
— capacity utilisation le^el in units of time. 
COnce a ^ear^ Member States shall inform the 
Commissionof an^changesinthisinformation. 
l^he Commission shall make this information available 
on request to competent authorities in the Member 
States. 
.Phe amendmentsnecessar^foradaptingthe Annexes to 
this Poirecti^e to scientific and technical progress shall be 
adoptedinaccordance withtheprocedurelaiddownin 
Article t^c of lOirecti^e^B^^BEEC 
19. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 295/11 
Article 14 Article 17 
The Committee for adaptation to scientific and technical 
progress set up under Article 12b of Directive 
75/442/EEC shall also be responsible for examining the 
amendments considered pursuant to Article 13 of this 
Directive. 
Article 15 
Member States shall prohibit all acts which intentionally 
or in effect circumvent the provisions of this Directive. 
Article 16 
Directive 84/631 /EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) in Article 2 (1), point (f) is replaced by the 
following: 
'(f) 'disposal' means disposal within the meaning of 
Article 1(b) of Directive 75/442/EEC; 
(b) in Article 15, the words 'Article 18 of Directive 
78/319/EEC shall be replaced by the words 'Article 
12b of Directive 75/442/EEC. 
ANNEX 1 
CATEGORIES OR GENERIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTES (') 
(wastes may be liquid, sludge or solid in form) 
ANNEX A 
Wastes which consist of: 
1 Anatomical substances; hospital and other clinical wastes 
2 Pharmaceuticals, drugs, medicines and veterinary compounds 
3 Wood preservatives 
4 Biocides and phyto-pharmaceutical substances 
5 Residue from substances employed as solvents 
6 Halogenated organic substances not employed as solvents excluding inert polymerized materials 
7 Tempering salts containing cyanides 
8 Mineral oils and oily substances (e.g. cutting sludges, etc.) 
9 Oil/water, hydrocarbon/water mixtures, emulsions 
10 Substances containing PCBs and/or PCTs (e.g. dielectrics, etc.) 
11 Tarry materials arising from refining, distillation and any pyrolytic treatment (e.g. still bottoms, etc.) 
(') Certain redundancies with entries found in Annex II are intentional. 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive with effect from 1 January 
1990. They shall forthwith inform the Commission 
thereof. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the texts of the provisions of national law 
which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 
Article 18 
1. Directive 78/319/EEC is hereby repealed with 
effect from 1 January 1990. 
2. References to the Directive repealed by para­
graph 1 shall be understood as references to this 
Directive. References to Articles of the repealed 
Directive are to be read in accordance with the corre­
spondence table contained in Annex IV. 
Article 19 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
No C 295/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 88 
12 Inks, dyes, pigments, paints, laquers, varnishes 
13 Resins, latex, plasticizers, glues/adhesives 
14 Chemical substances arising from research and development or teaching activities which are not iden­
tified and/or are new and whose effects on man and/or the environment are not known (e.g. 
laboratory residues, etc.) 
15 Pyrotechnics and other explosive materials 
16 Photographic chemicals and processing materials 
17 Any material contaminated with any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-furan 
18 Any material contaminated with any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin 
ANNEX B 
Wastes which contain any of the constituents listed in Annex II and consisting of: 
19 Animal or vegetable soaps, fats, waxes 
20 Non-halogenated organic substances not employed as solvents 
21 Inorganic substances without metals or metal compounds 
22 Ashes and/or cinders 
23 Soil, sand, clay including dredging spoils 
24 Non-cyanidic tempering salts 
25 Metallic dust, powder 
26 Spent catalyst materials 
27 Liquids or sludges containing metals or metal compounds 
28 Residue from pollution control operations (e.g. baghouse dusts, etc.) except (29), (30) and (33) 
29 Scrubber sludges 
30 Sludges from water purification plants 
31 Decarbonization residue 
32 Ion-exchange column residue 
33 Sewage sludges, untreated or unsuitable for use in agriculture 
34 Waste waters not otherwise taken into account in Annex I A 
35 Residue from cleaning of tanks and/or equipment 
36 Contaminated equipment 
37 Contaminated containers (e. g. packaging, gas cylinders, etc.) whose contents included one or more of 
the constituents listed in Annex II 
38 Batteries and other electrical cells 
39 Vegetable oils 
40 Materials resulting from selective waste collections from households and which exhibit any of the 
characteristics listed in Annex III 
41 Any other wastes which contain any of the constituents listed in Annex II 
19. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 295/13 
ANNEX II 
CONSTITUENTS OF WASTES WHICH RENDER THEM HAZARDOUS WASTES (*) 
Wastes having as constituents: 
C 1 Beryllium; beryllium compounds 
C 2 Vanadium compounds 
C 3 Chromium (VI) compounds 
C 4 Cobalt compounds 
C 5 Nickel compounds 
C 6 Copper compounds 
C 7 Zinc compounds 
C 8 Arsenic; arsenic compounds 
C 9 Selenium; selenium compounds 
CIO Silver compounds 
C 11 Cadmium; cadmium compounds 
C 12 Tin compounds 
C 13 Antimony; antimony compounds 
C 14 Tellurium; tellurium compounds 
C 15 Barium compounds, excluding barium sulphate 
C 16 Mercury; mercury compounds 
C 17 Thallium; thallium compounds 
C 18 Lead; lead compounds 
C 19 Inorganic sulphides 
C 20 Inorganic fluorine compounds, excluding calcium fluoride 
C 21 Inorganic cyanides 
C 22 The following alkaline or alkaline earth metals: lithium, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium in 
uncombined form 
C 23 Acidic solutions or acids in solid form 
C 24 Basic solutions or bases in solid form 
C 25 Asbestos (dust and fibres) 
C 26 Phosphorus; phosphorus compounds, excluding mineral phosphates 
C 27 Metal carbonyls 
C 28 Peroxides 
C29 Chlorates 
C 30 Perchlorates 
C 31 Azides 
(') Certain redundancies with generic types of hazardous wastes listed in Annex I are intentional. 
No C 295/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 88 
C 32 PCBs and/or PCTs 
C 33 Pharmaceutical or veterinary compounds 
C 34 Biocides and phyto-pharmaceutical substances (e.g. pesticides, etc.) 
C 35 Infectious substances 
C 36 Creosotes 
C 37 Isocyanates, thiocyanates 
C 38 Organic cyanides (e.g. nitriles, etc.) 
C 39 Phenols; phenol compounds 
C 40 Halogenated solvents 
C 41 Organic solvents, excluding halogenated solvents 
C 42 Organohalogen compounds, excluding inert polymerized materials and other substances referred to 
in this Annex 
C 43 Aromatic compounds; polycyclic and heterocyclic organic compounds 
C 44 Aliphatic amines 
C 45 Aromatic amines 
C 46 Ethers 
C 47 Substances of an explosive character, excluding those listed elsewhere in this Annex 
C 48 Sulphur organic compounds 
C 49 Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-furan 
C 50 Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin 
C 51 Hydrocarbons and their oxygen, nitrogen and/or sulphur compounds not otherwise taken into 
account in this Annex 
ANNEX HI 
CHARACTERISTICS OF WASTES WHICH RENDER THEM HAZARDOUS WASTES 
H 1 'Explosive': substances and preparations which may explode under the effect of flame or which are 
more sensitive to shocks or friction than dinitrobenzene; 
H 2 'Oxidizing': substances and preparations which exhibit highly exothermic reactions when in contact 
with other substances, particularly flammable substances; 
H 3-A 'Highly flammable ': 
— liquid substances and preparations having a flash point below 21 °C (including extremely 
flammable liquids), or 
— substances and preparations which may become hot and finally catch fire in contact with air at 
ambient temperature without any application of energy, or 
— solid substances and preparations which may readily catch fire after brief contact with a source 
of ignition and which continue to burn or to be consumed after removal of the source of 
ignition, or 
— gaseous substances and preparations which are flammable in air at normal pressure, or 
— substances and preparations which, in contact with water or damp air, evolve highly flammable 
gases in dangerous quantities; 
H 3-B 'Flammable': liquid substances and preparations having a flash point equal to or greater than 21 °C 
and less than or equal to 55 °C; 
H4 'Irritant': non-corrosive substances and preparations which, through immediate, prolonged or 
repeated contact with the skin or mucous membrane, can cause inflammation; 
19. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 295/15 
H 5 'Harmful': substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate 
the skin, may involve limited health risks; 
H 6 'Toxic': substances and preparations (including very toxic substances and preparations) which, if 
they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate the skin, may involve serious, acute or chronic 
health risks and even death; 
H 7 'Carcinogenic': substances or preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate 
the skin, may induce cancer or increase its incidence; 
H 8 'Corrosive': substances and preparations which may destroy living tissue on contact; 
H 9 'Infectious': substances containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or 
reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms; 
H 10 'Teratogenic': substances and preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they 
penetrate the skin, may induce non-hereditary congenital malformations or increase their incidence; 
H 11 'Mutagenic': substances or preparations which, if they are inhaled or ingested or if they penetrate 
the skin, may induce hereditary genetic defects or increase their incidence; 
H 12 Substances or preparations which release toxic or very toxic gases in contact with water, air or an 
acid; 
H 13 Capable by any means, after disposal, of yielding another substance, e.g. a leachate, which possesses 
any of the characteristics listed above; 
H 14 'Ecotoxic': substances and preparations which present or may present immediate or delayed risks 
for one or more sectors of the environment. 
Notes 
1. Attribution of the hazard characteristics 'toxic' (and 'very toxic'), 'harmful', 'corrosive' and 'irritant' is 
made on the basis of the criteria laid down by Annex VI, part I A and part II B of Council Directive 
67/548/EEC (') as amended by Council Directive 79/831/EEC of 18 September 1979 (2). 
2. With regard to attribution of the characteristics 'carcinogenic', 'teratogenic' and 'mutagenic', and with 
account taken of the state of the art, additional criteria are contained in the guide to the classification 
and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations of Annex VI (part II D) to Directive 
67/548/EEC as amended by Commission Directive 83/467/EEC of 29 July 1983 (J). 
Test methods 
The test methods serve to give specific meaning to the definitions given in Annex III. 
The methods to be used are those described in Annex V to Directive 67/548/EEC as amended by 
Commission Directive 84/449/EEC of 25 April 1984 (4) or by subsequent Commission directives adapting 
Directive 67/548/EEC to technical progress. These methods are themselves based on the work and recom­
mendations of the competent international bodies, in particular the OECD. 
(') OJ No L 196, 16. 8. 1967. 
O OJ No L 259, 15. 10. 1979. 
(') OJ No L 257, 16. 9. 1983. 
(4) OJ No L 251, 19. 9. 1984. 
No C 295/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 88 
ANNEX IV 
CORRESPONDENCE TABLE BETWEEN THE ARTICLES OF DIRECTIVE 78/319/EEC, WHICH 
HAS BEEN REPEALED AND THE ARTICLES OF DIRECTIVE /EEC ON HAZARDOUS 
WASTE 
Directive 78/319/EEC 
Articles repealed 
Article 1 
Article 2 
Article 3 
Article 4 
Article 5(1) 
Article 5 (2) 
Article 6 
Article 7 
Article 8 
Article 9 
Article 10 
Article 11 
Article 12 
Article 13 
Article 14 (1) 
Article 14 (2) 
Article 14 (3) 
Article 15 
Article 16 
Article 17 
Article 18 
Article 19 
Article 20 
Article 21 
Article 22 Directive /EEC 
New articles 
Article 1 (2) 
Article 8 (2) 
Article 2 
— deleted (Article 3 (1) of Directive 75/442/EEC) 
— deleted (Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC) 
Article 3 
— deleted (Article 5 of Directive 75/442/EEC) 
Article 4 
— deleted 
Article 5(1) 
Article 6 
Article 9 
Article 10 
Article 11 
Article 7(1) 
Article 8 
Article 7 (2) 
Article 7 (1) 
Article 12 
Article 13 
Article 14 
— deleted (Article 12c of Directive 75/442/EEC) 
Article 15 
Article 17 
Article 19 
Annex Annex II