Directive 2008/98/EC Maturity · Waste Framework Compliance
Your waste practices mapped against Directive 2008/98/EC, and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Directive 2008/98/EC Maturity · Waste Framework Compliance
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism, a level, a level above, and the action linking the two, is what turns an observation into a trajectory.
Is the chronological waste register kept and usable for every flow leaving the site?
- N1
No register kept on site. Information on outgoing flows exists only in the collection contractor’s documents.
- N2
A register exists but it is completed after the fact, from invoices. Some flows and some destinations are missing.
- N3
The register is updated at each collection, with nature, weighed quantity, code and destination. Consignment notes are filed and retrievable.
- N4
Data is reconciled against weighing slips and consignment notes, discrepancies are explained and tracked, a named person validates the register on a fixed schedule.
- N5
The register feeds directly into recovery indicators and declarations, with a documented consistency check and a review of anomalies at every management review.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Tie register entry to the moment of collection: a systematic weighing slip, entry of the nature, code, quantity and destination by the person handing the flow to the transporter, followed by a weekly check at the site QHSE meeting.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
Directive 2008/98/EC sets the legal framework for waste management in the Union. It defines the concepts of waste, by-product and end-of-waste status, imposes the treatment hierarchy (prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling, other recovery, disposal), organises producer and holder responsibility, governs the mixing of hazardous waste and requires registers to be kept. Its revision through Directive (EU) 2018/851 strengthened prevention, source separation of biowaste and extended producer responsibility schemes. It is transposed into national law, which shifts part of the requirements to environmental codes.
In food and drink, the difficulty is not knowing the text but holding it on the ground, within a production flow. Do animal by-products fall under the waste regime or under Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, and who decides on site? Is the chronological register fed by actual weighing slips or reconstructed at quarter end from the contractor’s invoices? Are unsold goods and quality returns directed to animal feed, anaerobic digestion or disposal according to a written rule, or according to whichever skip is available that day?
One confusion recurs often: that between waste and by-product. A process residue is not automatically waste if it meets the conditions of Article 5 (certain use, direct use without further processing other than normal industrial practice, production integrated into the process, lawfulness of the use). The stakes are real for a food business: the classification determines the registers, the consignment notes, the authorised outlets and the cost. Another point to clarify is the coexistence with the animal by-products regulation, which excludes certain flows from the scope of the directive while imposing its own traceability.
An inspection checks that the paperwork is in place and concludes with a compliance or a gap. The maturity assessment answers a different question: at what level of control do your practices sit, and what specific action moves you up a level. A register that exists but is filled in after the fact, sorting that is in place but dependent on one person, a reduction target that is announced but not measured: these situations look compliant and are actually fragile. The maturity scale distinguishes and ranks them.
The framework is ready to use in Datamensio and remains adaptable. The AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels to your scope (processing site, logistics platform, retail network), or builds a variant from your procedures, consignment notes and inspection reports. Cross-site roadmaps consolidate several site assessments into a single programme.
Reference standard: Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851
The themes assessed
Flow classification and waste status
Inventory of flows, classification and coding, distinction between waste, by-product and end-of-waste status, alignment with the animal by-products regime, documented decision-making.
Prevention and source reduction
Prevention programme, reduction of material losses and unsold goods, packaging eco-design, quantified targets and measurement of results.
Treatment hierarchy
Application of the order of priority, justification of exemptions, direction of flows towards reuse, recycling, energy recovery or disposal.
Source separation and separate collection
Separation of flows at the work station, biowaste sorting, containers and signage, prohibition on mixing hazardous waste, control of sorting quality.
Hazardous waste
Identification and labelling, storage conditions, separation of incompatible substances, consignment notes, authorised outlets and destinations.
Registers and traceability
Chronological register of outgoing waste, weighed quantities, nature and destination, retention of records, consistency between weighing slips, consignment notes and declarations.
Contractors and outlets
Verification of collection and treatment authorisations, contracts and specifications, contractor audits, tracking through to final destination.
Extended producer responsibility
Identification of schemes applicable to packaging and products placed on the market, membership and declarations, eco-contributions, information obligations.
Organisation, competence and awareness
Roles and responsibilities, written procedures, training of operators and new arrivals, integration into the existing QHSE system.
Indicators, review and improvement
Tonnage and recovery rate indicators, data reliability, periodic review, corrective actions, comparison between sites and over time.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be certified against Directive 2008/98/EC?
No. It is a European directive transposed into national law, whose observance is checked by control authorities, not by a certification body. The assessment measures the maturity of your practices and prepares you for inspection, it does not issue any certificate.
What is the difference between this assessment and a regulatory compliance audit?
An audit checks that the required paperwork is in place and concludes with a gap or a compliance finding. The assessment places each practice on a five-level scale and points to the action that moves it up. The two complement each other: the assessment prepares and prioritises, the audit confirms.
How does the framework handle the boundary with animal by-products?
One theme is dedicated to flow classification, covering the conditions of Article 5 and alignment with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009. The aim is to check that the decision is written, justified and owned by an identified person, rather than simply following past practice.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version takes 20 to 30 minutes for a QHSE manager to complete. The full version, run collaboratively with production, procurement and the environment department, generally spans one to two weeks, most of the time going into gathering registers and consignment notes.
Can it be used across several sites and results compared?
Yes. The assessment is deployed in series across the sites of a group, with a score by theme and a benchmark between business units and against previous rounds. A cross-site roadmap consolidates site action plans into a single programme.
Is the framework adaptable to our organisation?
Yes. Themes, questions and levels can be modified, and the AI can build a variant from your internal procedures, your waste management plans and the national transposition requirements that apply to your sites.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, with backup at Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European solutions.