2017/0176/D
EC/EFTA
DE Germany
  • B30 - Environment
2017-08-07
2017-05-11

The Substitute Building Materials Ordinance (Article 1 of the Umbrella Ordinance) lays down environmental requirements for the manufacture and use of mineral substitute building materials in engineering structures. Mineral substitute building materials mainly comprise recycled building materials from the processing of building and road construction waste, as well as slag and ash from industrial and combustion processes. The Substitute Building Materials Ordinance aims to regulate loose materials; it does not cover composite construction products.

The existing Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (Article 2 of the Umbrella Ordinance) shall include a new provision permitting soil and dredged material (and other materials, to a limited extent) to be used for backfilling excavation sites and open-cast mines.

Ordinance introducing a Substitute Building Materials Ordinance, redrafting the Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance and amending the Landfill Ordinance and the Commercial Waste Ordinance (Substitute Building Materials and Soil Protection Umbrella Ordinance)

Article 1: Ordinance laying down requirements for using mineral substitute building materials in engineering structures (Substitute Building Materials Ordinance):

Under the Substitute Building Materials Ordinance, the manufacture of mineral substitute building materials will be regulated by a quality control system that will classify materials into material classes according to their pollutant content. The use of these materials shall be based on specific requirements of use for each class, in order to ensure compliance with soil and groundwater protection requirements.

In detail:

§ 3 specifies the acceptance requirements for construction and demolition waste at processing facilities (acceptance monitoring).

§§ 4 to 13 standardise the quality control procedure (proof of suitability, in-house production monitoring and external monitoring) at processing facilities as well as the handling of quality control test results as regards compliance with the material values and the classification of mineral substitute building materials.

§§ 14 to 18 regulate the inspection of unprocessed soil material (excavated earth) and unprocessed dredging material.

§§ 19 and 20 specify the conditions under which mineral substitute building materials may be classified as by-products within the meaning of § 4(1) of the Waste Management Act, or as materials that have reached end-of-waste status in accordance with § 5(1) of the Waste Management Act.

§§ 21 to 24 regulate the necessary preventive requirements for protecting soil and groundwater with regard to using mineral substitute building materials in engineering structures, as well as a notification obligation for the use of certain mineral substitute building materials.

§ 25 specifies the requirements concerning separate collection and the obligation to recycle when removing from engineering structures mineral materials that become waste when dismantled, renovated or repaired. The provision corresponds with the wording of § 8 of the Commercial Waste Ordinance.

§ 26 regulates the obligation to administer a delivery note, as well as the requirements regarding its contents. The delivery note shall ensure the monitoring of mineral substitute building materials from the manufacturing stage through to use.

Article 2: Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance [Bundes-Bodenschutz- und Altlastenverordnung – BBodSchV]:

The redrafted version of the BBodSchV shall be adjusted in line with the latest scientific research and the knowledge gained during the past 15 years of its implementation. Furthermore, the scope of the BBodSchV shall be extended to include the application or introduction of materials above or below a rooting soil layer. As such, the backfilling of excavation sites and open-cast mines in particular will be covered in the future.

In detail:

§§ 6 to 8 lay down new rules regarding the application or introduction of materials on or into soil. § 6 contains general requirements for application or introduction as regards the rooting soil layer, as well as above or below the rooting soil layer. With regard to the regulation of areas with a higher pollutant content, the inspection obligation and the requirements for application or introduction, § 6 is based on the corresponding regulations in the current § 12 BBodSchV and also draws on the relevant parts of the 2004 Technical Rules for Soil Material [TR Boden 2004]. The specific requirements regarding rooting soil layers in § 7 are largely taken over from the current § 12 BBodSchV. The specific requirements for the application or introduction above or below the rooting soil layer, in particular with regard to the pollutant content, are standardised in § 8 and are based on the TR Boden 2004.

Consequential amendments:

Article 3: Amendment of the Landfill Ordinance

The amendment of the Landfill Ordinance shall allow mineral substitute building materials (non-hazardous waste) that have undergone quality control in accordance with the Substitute Building Materials Ordinance to be included in landfill classes 0 and 1 (DK 0 and DK 1).

Article 4: Amendment of the Commercial Waste Ordinance

The amendment of the Commercial Waste Ordinance shall clarify the link to the Substitute Building Materials Ordinance with regard to the separate collection of mineral waste.