The (legal) concept of waste: An obstacle for circular economy activities (in the Brussels Capital Region)?

This contribution examines whether and how the legal framework regarding waste, as applicable, is an obstacle to the development of the circular economy or if on the contrary it is conducive to exnovate the linear economy. After providing an overview of the applicable legal framework (section II) the contribution dives into the concept of waste (section III) and examines the criteria that are to be fulfilled to qualify a product as waste. Once qualified as waste, a substance or good can also lose again this status if it complies with the conditions of the so-called “end-of-waste status”. This contribution examines how these criteria impact a circular economy. The conclusions of the assessment are bundled in section IV. This contribution is part of the interdisciplinary ULB/VUB research project Gosete, financed by Innoviris Brussels (Belgium). Gosete examines the governance issues related to the transition to a sustainable economy and in that context different case studies focused on the Brussels Capital Region have been performed. This contribution thus also focuses on the legal framework as applicable to the Brussels Capital Region. However, to the extent this legal framework derives from EU legislation this contribution includes a more general assessment.