Court of Justice interprets concept of ‘waste’ under Waste Framework Directive in a case dealing with uncontaminated top-quality excavated soil 

The Court of Justice has issued a ruling in Porr Bau (C-238/21), clarifying that Austrian law which grants end-of-waste status to uncontaminated top-quality excavated soil only under certain specific conditions, with no environmental relevance, is incompatible with the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98.

The request for a preliminary ruling has been submitted in the course of the proceedings between construction company Porr Bau GmbH and the administrative authorities of the District of Graz and surrounding area. Those proceedings concern an administrative decision which found that the excavated soil ordered by certain farmers from Poor Bau, for the purposes of levelling and restoring their cultivation areas, was to be considered w