End-of-waste is the legal point at which iron, steel, aluminium or copper scrap stops being waste and becomes a secondary raw material. For a European yard that distinction now sits next to EU export rules. Waste-classified metal follows the Waste Shipment Regulation. Metal that has met EU end-of-waste criteria is shipped as a product. The paperwork, the destination and, in some cases, the bid all depend on which status the lot actually has.
The Union criteria are already in force. They are not a September 2026 invention. What has changed is that export of waste to non-OECD countries will tighten from May 2027, so holders are asking more often whether a parcel still needs a waste movement or can travel as goods.
What end-of-waste means in the metals trade
Council Regulation (EU) No 333/2011 sets EU-wide criteria for iron, steel and aluminium scrap, including aluminium alloys. Commission Regulation (EU) No 715/2013 does the same for copper scrap. Both sit under the Waste Framework Directive. When the producer transfers the material to another holder and all listed conditions are met, the scrap ceases to be waste.
The criteria are quality and process rules, not a commercial grade name. The scrap must be graded to a customer or industry specification, kept within limits on foreign materials, oil, hazardous properties and closed containers, and produced under a documented management system. That system has to include incoming control, treatment, quality monitoring and radiation monitoring, and it is verified at intervals by an accredited body. The producer issues a statement of conformity.
Uptake has been uneven. A Joint Research Centre study found Italian yards far ahead of the rest of the Union in using the iron, steel and aluminium criteria. Elsewhere many lots still move as green-listed waste because the buyer, the Member State practice or the preparation does not support an end-of-waste claim. Calling a mixed demolition pile “end-of-waste” without the system and the statement does not change its status.
Iron, steel and aluminium
For ferrous and aluminium scrap under 333/2011 the recovery operation has to yield metal that a mill, foundry or remelter can use as feedstock, sufficiently free of non-metallic compounds and without hazardous properties. HMS, shredded, extrusion and UBC can in principle reach that point if they are prepared and documented. A skip of mixed light iron with plastic, dirt and sealed units will not.
Aluminium alloys are included. The statement still has to match what the remelter is buying: Tata, Taldon or Tense remain commercial names. End-of-waste does not turn mixed old sheet into 6063.
Copper
Copper has its own regulation. Under 715/2013 copper scrap must be graded, contain less than 2 percent foreign materials by weight, and be free of excessive oxide, visible oil, PVC coatings and pressurised or closed containers. Hazardous properties listed in the Waste Framework Directive are out. The producer’s management system, including radiation monitoring, is verified every three years.
Berry, Birch or Candy on an offer is still the trade grade. End-of-waste is the legal wrapper. Insulated cable that has not been chopped, and lots with iron fittings or plastic, sit outside that copper product status until they are treated.
Brass, stainless, zinc, lead and mixed shredder concentrates such as Zorba do not have the same EU-wide metal criteria. National end-of-waste decisions or waste classification then apply. Do not assume 333/2011 covers every non-ferrous drum.
Why it matters for export
From 21 May 2027, non-hazardous waste for recovery is generally prohibited to non-OECD countries unless the destination is on the Commission’s authorised list. OECD destinations, including Turkey, remain on a different track. Those rules apply to waste. Product-status scrap is not a waste shipment.
That is why end-of-waste is being discussed next to the OECD and non-OECD split. It is also why the Commission’s unpublished delegated act on waste exports, reported in September 2026, leaves open how CN grades and end-of-waste material will be treated. Until that text exists, a yard should not treat an end-of-waste claim as a way around a ban that has not yet been written.
Competent authorities still expect the statement of conformity, the management system and a lot that matches it. A mill in the EU or an OECD country may accept waste-classified scrap under the usual green-list or notification procedures. A non-OECD buyer in 2027 may only be reachable if the country is listed, or if the metal is lawfully a product. Legal advice on a specific shipment sits with the holder and their consultant, not on a marketplace listing.
How to describe the lot
State the metal and the ISRI or mill grade, tonnes, packing and place. Then state whether the material is offered as waste or as end-of-waste under 333/2011 or 715/2013, and whether a statement of conformity is available. Verified companies can put that on live lots or answer wanted; request access if you have metal to place.
End-of-waste is a documented status for specified iron, steel, aluminium and copper scrap. It decides which shipment regime applies. It does not replace the grade the furnace buys.