Black mass now ‘officially’ hazardous in the EU

The European Commission has added shredded battery waste, known as ‘black mass’ to its list of hazardous waste materials.

Under this expected development, the export of black mass to non-OECD countries is automatically banned under the Basel Convention, which prohibits the export of hazardous waste to these countries.

New specific waste codes have been introduced to identify the management of waste from different stages of the batteries’ life cycle, including:

• waste from battery manufacturing
• waste from post-consumer batteries
• intermediate fractions from battery recycling 

Black mass, lithium-based, nickel-based, and zinc-based waste batteries, and sodium sulphur and alkaline waste batteries are all now classed as hazardous. A new hazardous code for lithium-based batteries for separately collected municipal waste has also been added.

Updated list

The changes come in an updated waste list announced on 5 March when the Commission presented an ‘industrial action plan’ for the European automotive sector following its ‘Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the European Automotive Industry’, launched by President von der Leyen in January 2025.

Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said: ‘This will lead to better control of black mass shipments and especially a ban on its export to non-OECD countries. By keeping black mass longer in the economy we can boost battery recycling and our circular economy.’

The move supports the Battery Regulation’s CE objective of increasing security of supply for raw materials and energy and enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy. 

Modify procedures

Commission guidance said: ‘The amendment of the List of Waste will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU if the European Parliament or the Council of the EU do not object to it.

‘Work will then focus on applying the new codes in Member States and by relevant stakeholders. Permit procedures and related documentation will need to be adapted to implement the new codes.

‘Waste operators may have to modify their management procedures to adapt to the more stringent provisions when dealing with and shipping hazardous waste within the EU and to OECD countries.’