EU-EPA provides a waste caltalogue and hazardous waste list that allows the classification of most waste materials hazardous or not-hazardous according to origin and composition. However the list also provides mirror entries for those waste materials that can in some conditions will contain dangerous substances and not in other conditions. For waste materials that are fully characterised, the sum is made of their dangerous components (based on their R-phrases) and the concentrations are compared to the legal limits provided for each of the 14 risk categories (e.g. maximum 1% of substances that are classified as R35 (irritating substances), maximum 0.5% of substances classified as R60 or R61 (substances with risk to fertility)...). Complex waste products (e.g. sludge from some water treatment plants), however, are however most often not fully characterised. In these cases classification is not possible based on chemical analyses and the HWD recommends testing of the toxicological properties of the waste itself.. The test strategy to accomplish this, however is not clear. VITO has developed a test strategy fro complex waste, based on in vitro and ecotoxicity tests, that allows to conclude upon the toxicological quality of the waste materials. This DISCRISET project was sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Technology Innovation Platform (MIP), the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) and industrial partners.
