Guidance on registration - ECHA - Europa

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<strong>Guidance</strong> on registration
Version 2.0 May 2012
Criteria for defining when waste is no longer considered to be waste (so-called end of waste
criteria) after recycling are currently under development in relation to the Waste Framework
Directive. Such a decision shall be taken within the legislative framework of the Waste
Framework Directive. A recovered substance will only fall within the scope of the REACH
Regulation when a decision has been taken, in accordance with the provisions of the Waste
Framework Directive, that the waste it is originated from meets the end of waste criteria and
as such is no longer waste.
The REACH Regulation sets the following conditions which have to be respected in order to
benefit from the exemption from registration:
(1) The same substance must have been registered. This means that if, for some reason, the
same substance has not been registered at manufacturing or import stage, the recovered
substance has to be registered.
The legal entity performing the recovery should check whether a registration exemption
applies to the recovered substance. If this is the case, then that exemption can of course
be invoked.
(2) The substance must be the same (the sameness of the substance must be assessed
according to the criteria defined in <strong>Guidance</strong> on substance identification). For example, if
the substance itself was modified in the recovery and the modified substance has not been
registered, then the recovered substance has to be registered.
(3) The legal entity that did the recovery must have available:
the information that is contained in a Safety Data Sheet (see section 6.1.1); or
if the substance is supplied to the general public, sufficient information to enable users
to take the necessary protection measures; or
if a Safety Data Sheet is not required, the information on any authorisation or
restriction on the substance and other relevant information necessary to identify and
apply risk management measures, as applicable (see section 6.1.2).
The form in which this information has to be available to the company carrying out the
recovery is not specified in REACH. It is however important to remark that recovery operators,
relying or not on this exemption from registration, have also to comply with their duties
regarding the provision of information on the substance down the supply chain, as specified in
sections 6.1.1 and 6.1.2.
More detailed information can be found in the <strong>Guidance</strong> on waste and recovered substances.
The guidance explains in detail the conditions under which recovered substances may be
exempted from registration and provides advice on how to fulfil the different criteria. The
guidance also presents the recovery process of specific materials such as paper, glass, and
metals in relation with the requirements of the REACH Regulation. The reader is strongly
advised to become familiarised with the guidance if he intends to register or claim an
exemption from registration for a recovered substance.
It is worth noting that this exemption does not require that the substance has been registered
by an actor of the supply chain leading to the waste generation. It is sufficient that a
registration has been submitted for the substance by any registrant.
ECHA recommends a recycler, who starts recycling a phase-in substance, to late pre-register
that substance where possible in order to benefit from the transitional provisions for
registration (see section 2.3.2). He can still be exempted from the registration requirements if
another pre-registrant registers the substance.
Legal reference: Article 2 (7) (d)
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