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Waste and recycling under the EU Taxonomy
The waste chapter rewards the circular hierarchy: separate collection of recyclables, sorting and material recovery, anaerobic digestion and composting of bio-waste, and landfill gas capture all qualify under defined conditions. Notably absent from the mitigation chapter: mixed-waste incineration and landfill themselves, a boundary that shapes what waste investors can classify as aligned.
Why this activity matters
Waste management sits at the junction of two objectives, climate mitigation and circular economy, and the mitigation chapter covers the activities that demonstrably cut emissions: keeping recyclables in the material loop, treating bio-waste biologically rather than landfilling it, and capturing landfill methane. The conditions are purposive: collection must be separate collection for reuse or recycling, AD and composting are for source-segregated bio-waste, and recovered materials must substitute virgin inputs.
For waste companies and infrastructure funds this defines the aligned perimeter of a portfolio: MRFs, bio-waste AD plants, and collection fleets serving separate streams qualify; mass-burn incineration and landfill operations do not appear in the mitigation chapter, however operationally necessary. Assessments therefore often involve carving an aligned share out of a mixed portfolio, which is precisely what criterion-level assessment supports.
What alignment requires
Hierarchy-shaped activities with purposive conditions. In summary:
| Area | What is required (summarised) |
|---|---|
| Separate collection (5.5) | Collection and transport of non-hazardous waste in source-segregated fractions, aimed at preparation for reuse or recycling. |
| Sorting & recovery (5.9) | Sorting and material recovery converting waste into secondary raw materials that substitute virgin materials in production. |
| AD & composting (5.6/5.7) | Anaerobic digestion or composting of source-segregated bio-waste, with biogas utilisation and digestate/compost quality meeting the applicable requirements. |
| Landfill gas (5.8) | Capture and utilisation of landfill gas on closed or preparing-to-close cells, with monitoring; the activity covers the gas capture, not landfilling itself. |
Summarised for orientation; the assessment itself applies the full criteria text of the Delegated Acts as amended.
Where DNSH scrutiny falls
Facility permitting and emissions controls: odour, leachate and process water for biological treatment; dust and noise for MRFs.
Output quality evidence: recyclate specifications, digestate/compost standards, and rejected-fraction handling.
Leachate and process water management at treatment sites.
Site CRVA, with flood exposure the common item for waste infrastructure.
Documentation that typically supports the assessment
- Waste stream descriptions: sources, segregation and tonnages
- Output specifications and offtake evidence (recyclates, digestate, compost, biogas)
- Permits and compliance records for treatment facilities
- For landfill gas: capture system description and monitoring data
- Fleet and logistics details for collection activities
How Censatim assesses it
Waste assessments are perimeter exercises: our questioning maps each operation to the correct activity, tests the purposive conditions (separate collection, source segregation, virgin substitution), and covers the permit-based DNSH set. Mixed portfolios come out with a defensible aligned share rather than a blanket answer, which is what financing and reporting actually need.
Censatim is an expert-built EU Taxonomy assessment tool: describe the asset or activity in plain language, upload supporting documents, and answer a short set of targeted questions. The result is a criterion-by-criterion view with an In-line / Partial / Not aligned / Undetermined rating and a confidence level for each dimension. See the full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
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