Ai confini della nozione di rifiuto: la disciplina dei sottoprodotti dopo la direttiva 2008/98/CE

This article addresses the issue of distinction between waste and by-products related to the changes brought about by the 2008/98/EC directive. After reconstructing the evolution of the jurisprudential and – most recently – normative concept of by-product, the Author discusses the distinction between waste and by-products and highlights the current problems of interpreting the framework brought about by EC directive 2008/98 and the limitations that may discourage the full application of the principles of environmental and economic development of industrial process waste. The analysis concludes with some proposals that could, in the light of interpretation, foster a better demarcation of the boundary between the concept of waste and that of by-product, as well as calling for a vertical enhancement of the discipline by the executive intervention of the EU Commission.