The space industry is questioning the application of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD – Directive 2008/98/EC) to its sector.
In this context, Eurospace, which represents the main players in the European space industry, announced on Thursday 8 August the setting up of a working group on the European legislative act that came into force on 4 July last, and which will have to be transposed into national law by 5 July 2020 at the latest.
The problem comes from Article 9 of the revised WFD (see EUROPE 12024/25). The article in question provides for a notification obligation for EU suppliers and the creation of a corresponding database by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for articles containing chemical substances included in the REACH list (Regulation regulating the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals) and having a concentration above 0.1% weight by weight. The ECHA is responsible for maintaining the database of these products, which it makes available to waste treatment operators.
Eurospace recalls that products sent into space and mean of “related transport” (i.e. launchers) do not generally produce waste on the territory of the European Union. Therefore, according to the organisation, these products are not part of the circular economy and do not fall within the scope of the WFD. Eurospace therefore requests an explicit exemption for products sent into space and launchers.
The WFD task force aims to advocate the particular case of the European space sector to national regulators and at European level during the implementation of the Directive. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)