Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy seeks to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste and improve resource efficiency. The fundamental goal is to achieve a circular economy that avoids unnecessary waste generation and allows for the use of materials as a resource, wherever possible. This in turn minimises the requirement for the extraction of additional natural resources. By-products can play a key role in achieving this.
This page aims to help you to:
More detailed guidance can be found in the Draft By-product - Guidance Note (May 2020).
The concept of a by-product was established by the European Waste Framework Directive (WFD). This concept has been transposed into Irish law through Regulation 27 of the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011, as amended.
Only a production residue can be considered a potential by-product. The initial assessment of whether a production residue is a by-product or a waste is conducted by the relevant person, such as the material producer.
The notification of a potential by-product gives industry an opportunity to demonstrate, with an appropriate level of rigour, that:
The economic operator is required to notify the EPA if they decide the material is a by-product. For further details on how to submit a by-product notification and what is required, see how to prepare and submit a by-product notification.
The by-product test is made up of four conditions, which represent the requirements of Regulation 27. All four of the following conditions must be met for a person to decide that a production residue is a by-product:
The EPA has produced the following guidance to assist you with the completion of your by-product notifications:
It is important the notifier becomes familiar with this guidance before submitting a by-product notification. This will assist the notifier in providing the correct level of detail in the notification to enable the EPA to determine whether the notified material satisfies the conditions of Regulation 27 and can be considered a by-product or that the material is a waste.
All by-product notifications are available to view on the EPA’s By-product Register.
By-product registrations shall be available to view on the EPA’s By-Product Register after the 12th December 2023.
National by-product criteria are currently under development by the EPA for site-won asphalt (road planings) and greenfield soil and stone as set out in the table below.
| By-Product Material |
Use of material |
Reference No. | Status | Link to Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Site-Won Asphalt |
For use as a raw material in Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) plants for the manufacture of bituminous mixtures. | BP-N001/2023 |
Available for use |
|
| Greenfield Soil & Stone | Developments with planning permission or an exemption from the need for planning permission which provides for the use of this by-product material. | BP-N002/2023 |
Draft Criteria and Explanatory note were published for public consultation in October 2023. The period for making submissions on the draft criteria is now closed. |
The National criteria for site-won asphalt negate the need to make a by-product notification to the EPA for determination. The production of site-won asphalt as by-product that complies with the national criteria is instead required to be registered. Registration details will be displayed on the publicly available register published on the Agency.
Registrations are made through the EPA EDEN portal via the “By-product Module”
To register production of site-won asphalt in accordance with the national criteria (BP-N001/2023) the producer needs to complete the registration form by clicking on the “Create By-product Registration”. This will generate an automated registration form.
The national criteria (BP-N001/2023) will be available to select within the registration form.
RAP plants will be available to select from a drop down field on the registration form. If the RAP plant you wish to dispatch the site-won asphalt is not listed, contact byproduct@epa.ie to add the RAP plant to the system.
Details of the producer, production process location and quantities of material are also required to be entered on the registration form. Once the form is fully completed this is then submitted through the automated system by clicking “Submit”.
When a registration form is submitted to the EPA, the registration will be assigned a registration reference number and details of the registration will be entered on the By-Product Register. The register will include filter and download functionality.
The producer will receive an email with a copy of the registration form for their records, including the registration reference number.
If a producer (registrant) no longer intends to move/use material under a by-product registration or if it has been determined by a local authority that the material does not comply with the national criteria, then the producer may request that the registration is deregistered. A deregistration request should be sent to byproduct@epa.ie quoting the registration reference no. and the reason for deregistration.
