Businesses and experts increasingly argue that scrap metal cannot be considered waste. At the same time, the law conveys an ambiguous position through its provisions, which leads to gaps in regulation. As a result, some companies bear a double burden, simultaneously complying with the provisions of the Law "On Scrap Metal" and the Law "On Waste Management."
ECOBUSINESS. Enterprise Ecology spoke with experts and business representatives to identify the problems caused by legislative inconsistency. This became known from a publication in the Ukraine Waste Recycling community.
The legislative roots of the problem
The legal conflict is caused by different approaches to the definition of scrap metal in different laws.
According to the law "On Scrap Metal," it is products or parts thereof that are unsuitable for direct use. They have lost their value for exploitation and also contain metals—ferrous or non-ferrous.
The law "On Waste Management" considers waste to be anything that the owner wants to get rid of. At the same time, the document provides for the removal of certain types of scrap from the status of waste. However, the National Waste List contains items that actually correspond to the definition of scrap metal.
The previous law "On Waste" excluded scrap from its scope by introducing a corresponding provision into the Law "On Scrap Metal." The old law ceased to be in force, and with it, this distinction lost its validity.
Therefore, scrap metal is now caught between the requirements of two laws at the same time, and experts believe that the law "On Waste" is trying to control something that does not belong to it.
“The implementation of some of its mechanisms, particularly the mechanism for terminating waste status, which could have become an effective tool to simplify the transfer of scrap to specialized companies, has proven unsuccessful. Initially, this mechanism was overly complicated by unfounded requirements and procedures, and later – essentially blocked due to the inoperability of the corresponding special register”, said waste management expert Yevhen Shmurak in an interview with the publication.
Companies balance at their own risk
Businesses are forced to decide for themselves whether to record scrap metal as waste or to account for it in the EcoSystem, and even which documents to rely on to confirm the legality of scrap metal transactions.
In addition, companies cannot actually remove scrap metal from waste status, so they must obtain waste processing permits and keep records of it in order to process it.
Expert Yevhen Shmurak emphasizes that eliminating errors requires comprehensive changes. However, the situation can be resolved more quickly by amending the Scrap Metal Law, rewriting Article 2 as follows:
"The Law of Ukraine 'On Waste Management' does not apply to relations arising in the course of collecting, processing, and carrying out operations with scrap metal. Upon transfer of scrap metal waste to specialized enterprises, its status as waste is automatically terminated."
Environmental risks
Some experts consider such changes to be a risky simplification, as scrap metal has essentially lost its operational value and is therefore indeed waste. However, its specific nature requires different regulation.
"The real problem lies not in the status of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal, but in the discrepancies between general environmental legislation and the special regulation of the scrap market," noted Oleksandr Sheiko, Chairman of the Expert-Scientific Council of the Ukrainian Secondary Metals Association.
In his opinion, the solution may lie in a clear definition of the scope of application of both laws and in the unification of the accounting and control systems. Attempting to change the legal status of this material is not advisable.
EcoPolitic previously reported that the government has once again postponed by one year the introduction of the new waste classification for taxation. It was originally scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026.
