1. French Classification of Steel Slags, Refractories and Aluminum Dross

Regarding waste classification, Article R. 541-7 of the French Environmental Code refers to the European Commission Decision 2000/532/CE of 3 May 2000 replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of wastes pursuant to Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste and Council Decision 94/904/EC establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(4) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste (“Decision 2000/532/EC”). Therefore, waste classification is the same in French law as in EU law.

Hence, as in the EU law:

• wastes from the processing of slag (item 10 02 01) and unprocessed slag (item 10 02 02) from the iron and steel industry are classified as non-hazardous wastes (except if they are contaminated by hazardous substances);
• black drosses from secondary production of aluminum thermal metallurgy are classified as hazardous waste (item 10 03 09*);
• refractories can be classified as hazardous or non-hazardous wastes depending on the metallurgical process used (item 16.11).

For more precision on the list of wastes, especially for refractories, please refer to the Annex of Decision 2000/532/CE. Hazardous waste is marked in this appendix with an asterisk.

Besides, Article L. 541-4-2 of the French Environmental Code mirrors the definition of byproducts from the Directive 2008/98/EC. Consequently, these substances can be qualified as byproducts under the same conditions (see our development regarding EU law).

The French Ministry of ecology’s website also classifies vitrified blast furnace slags as by-products (https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/differentes-categories-dechets).

Please note that there is also an end-of-waste procedure (Article L. 541-4-3 of the French Environmental Code) which has been recently enlarged (Decree No. 2021-380 of 1st April 2021 related to the end of waste). In addition, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition is reviewing a specific draft order setting out the end of waste criteria for steel slags for use in road engineering and public works (https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/differentes-categories-dechets).

2. French Regulations on Landfilling Steel Slags, Aluminum Dross and Refractories

French waste regulation is largely based on the EU waste regulation. For example, the waste hierarchy provided for in Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC is included, among other principles, in Article L. 541-1 of the French Environmental Code. Hence, in principle, only wastes that cannot be reused, recycled or recovered can be buried or stored in landfills (L. 541-1 and L. 541-2-1 of the French Environmental Code).

In accordance with Directive 1999/31/EC, non-hazardous and hazardous waste can be disposed of in storage facilities for non-hazardous waste or, if necessary, for hazardous waste under the same conditions (see Ministerial Order of 15 February 2016 on storage facilities for non-hazardous waste; Ministerial Order of 30 December 2002 on storage facilities for hazardous waste). These facilities are mostly subject to authorizations under legislation related to facilities classified for the protection of the environment ("ICPE").

It may be noted that France is particularly concerned by the development of the circular economy (e.g. Law No. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 related to the fight against wastage and the circular economy). To date, it mainly concerned single plastic use, packaging, and other product categories and not specifically materials and raw materials. Nevertheless, the circular economy principles are called to develop.

Except for the waste management principles mentioned in the answer to question 1, we have not identified specific regulations to encourage steel mills and aluminum producers to reuse or recycle their byproducts. However, some new or draft national acts or decrees may impact aluminum and steel producers’ waste and co-products management:

• the classification of steel slags as waste may change in the near future in France as the French Ministry of Ecological Transition is reviewing a draft order setting out the end of waste criteria for steel slags for use in road engineering and public works (https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/differentes-categories-dechets). It should encourage slags producers to reuse their byproducts and facilitate the utilization of slags in construction and road works.
• Pursuant to article 10 of the Law No. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on the fight against wastage and the circular economy (“Law AGEC”) modifying Article L. 541-1 of the French Environmental Code, landfilling non-hazardous recoverable waste will be progressively prohibited to reduce the amount of non-dangerous waste going to landfill by 50% in 2025 compared to 2010. To meet this objective, a draft decree provides that, as of January 1, 2022, landfilling non-hazardous waste containers containing 30% of metal or mineral elements is prohibited. This draft decree and a draft ministerial order provide for exceptions to this principle, among other things, waste from the processing of iron and steel slags should not be concerned by this prohibition.
• The Law AGEC also created as of January 1, 2022, an extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) for building products and materials. Producer of such materials, will in general, pay an “eco-contribution” to an eco-organism to collect, transport and recover the said materials. Pursuant to Article L. 541-10-3 of the French Environmental Code, this eco contribution can be adjusted with regard to the composition of these products and in particular the incorporation of recycled products. The implementation of this adjustment and new EPR should encourage cement and building materials producers to use waste or co-products of steel mills in their products (see also answer to Question 4).
• Article 55 of the Law AGEC also requires, as of January 1, 2021, state services as well as local authorities to favor recycled materials for their needs. With regard to the fact that these entities carry out construction and road works, it should encourage steel mills to recover materials that can be reused in construction works.
• Please also note that a bill of law is currently under discussion in parliament (Bill of Law to combat climate change and strengthen resilience to its effects), which provides for certain measures that could indirectly impact the Client's activity. In this respect, the Bill of Law provides in particular, for the inclusion of environmental clauses in public procurement contracts within five years in order to require public purchasers (acheteurs publics) to take into account considerations linked to the environmental aspects of the works (article 15).

Regulatory limitations on using or landfilling certain chemicals, metals or oxides are mainly rooted in European Union law. As EU regulations are directly applicable, they do not require transposition into national law.

Concerning occupational exposure limit values, it should be noted that the French limit values may be more stringent than those set under European Union law. These are set out in Articles R. 4412-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code. The attached table shows all the occupational exposure limit values in force in France. It should be noted that some values are indicative or accepted, i.e. they are not binding but constitute prevention objectives (R. 4412-150 of the French Labour Code; Order of 30 June 2004 establishing the list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in application of Article R. 4412-150 of the Labour Code).

Concerning the landfilling of waste, the Directive 2008/98/EC has been transposed in articles R. 541-7 and following the French Environmental Code. The rules for the storage of hazardous waste are specified by an order of December 30, 2002, while those for the storage of non-hazardous waste are specified by an order of February 15, 2016. Storage facilities may be intended to be temporary, prior to transfer or recovery of the waste, or permanent, with the waste destined for disposal.

It follows from these provisions that, if the storage is temporary, recoverable substances can in principle be extracted for reuse. If the storage is permanent, it is in principle not possible to recover landfilled substances.

To our knowledge, these provisions are not the subject of any consequential amendment.

1. Concrete manufacturing facilities are Classified Installations for the Protection of the Environment (“ICPE”) and may therefore require a declaration receipt or a registration order or an authorization delivered by the relevant Préfet. According to their characteristics, these installations correspond to several headings listed in the appendix of Article R. 511-9 of the French Environmental Code:

• No. 2518: Ready-mix concrete production plant equipped with a mechanized hydraulic binder supply system to the exception of the ones subject to heading 2522;
• No. 2522: Plant for the manufacture of concrete products by mechanical process;
• No. 2520: Manufacture of cement, lime, plaster.

2. The manufacture of concrete is subject to compliance with a French standard which is itself derived from the European standard mentioned in our answer concerning EU law: the NF EN 206/CN standard. This standard, which already existed previously under a different numbering, was revised in December 2014. It takes into account the fact that the use of additives in addition to cement is increasingly frequent in the composition of concrete. This standard provides for the substitution rate of additions according to the exposure classes to which the concrete will be subjected during its service life.

This rate is specified in the tables NAF1 to NAF4 of annex F of the standard NF EN 206/CN. These tables give for each type of addition (i.e., fly ash, silica fume, ground slag, metakaolin) according to each exposure class, the maximum ratio A/A+C, which allows determining the maximum quantity of addition that can be used in substitution of cement.

In addition, 6 types of additions are subject to standardization:

• Fillers of siliceous origin: standard NF P 18-509;
• Fillers of limestone origin: standard NF P 18-508;
• Silica fume: standard NF EN 13263;
• Fly ash: standard NF EN 450;
• Ground vitrified slag from blast furnace: standard NF P 18-506;
• Metakaolin: standard NF P 18-513.

3. The manufacture of cement is subject to French standard published by AFNOR: the NF EN 197-1 standard which incorporates the mentioned European standard. The latest version of the NF EN 197-1 dates from April 2012. This standard could evolve with the new European standard EN 197-5.
4. Note that article 181 of French Law No. 2018-1021 of 23 November 2018 on the evolution of housing, development and digital had provided that a decree should be adopted to determine, for new construction, according to the different categories of buildings, the level of carbon footprint to be respected, assessed over the entire life cycle of the building, by integrating the carbon storage capacity in the materials (codified in article L. 111-9 of the French Construction and Housing Code).

This decree relating to energy and environmental performance requirements for building construction in metropolitan France (called "Environmental Regulation 2020" or "RE 2020") is under consultation until April 13, 2021. RE 2020 will require new buildings to have a lower carbon footprint as of January 1, 2022, for the construction of buildings or parts of buildings for residential, office or primary or secondary education purposes, as well as extensions according to their surface area, and as of January 1, 2023, for temporary constructions for the same purposes. This standard includes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for newly constructed buildings. For each construction material, CO2 emissions will be calculated by a life cycle analysis (“ACV”). However, the ACV is subject to a new method (called "dynamic" ACV) which allows, among other things, to weigh the greenhouse gas emissions according to the year of the emission and will therefore favor bio-based materials (i.e., wood).

Therefore, the adoption of the RE 2020 could significantly impact the concrete and cement sector which will have a less favorable ACV than the bio-based materials.

5. As of January 1, 2022 producers of construction products and materials in the building sector intended for households or professionals will be subject to extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) defined by article L. 541-10 of the French Environmental Code. The principle of EPR is an application of the "polluter-pays" principle and allows the transfer of all or part of the legal responsibility and all or part of the financial burden of the treatment of the waste to the producer of the product which generated this waste. To fulfill their obligations, producers can collectively set up approved eco-organizations whose they ensure governance and to which they transfer their obligation as waste producer and pay in return a financial contribution called "eco-contribution" (please note however that the waste producer of the product remains liable in case of default by any third party to whom it has transferred the waste). The amount of this contribution is often fixed according to a unit price per quantity of waste (tons, kilos, etc.). At this stage, neither the name of the eco-organization nor the amount of the contribution is known. However, it should be noted that the payment of this contribution could have an impact on the Client's activities.

In France, the industrial and commercial activities that may damage the environment are known as "classified facilities for the protection of the environment" ("ICPE"). The facilities concerned are reported in a nomenclature that defines which ones are subject to authorization, registration or declaration, according to the importance of the hazards or drawbacks their operation might present. As a consequence, operators must hold the corresponding operating permit for the lawful undertaking of such activities. Technical prescriptions are attached or included in the said operating permits, e.g. prescriptions related to atmospheric and/or dust emission, prescriptions related to water withdrawal or water discharge; etc.

Besides, with regard to dust emissions and water treatment, the Ministerial Order of 2 February 1998 relating to the withdrawal and consumption of water as well as to emissions of any kind from installations classified for the protection of the environment subject to authorization regulates their withdrawal and consumption of water and sets limit values for polluting emissions.

With regard to water treatment, Article 14 of the Ministerial Order requires operators to limit the flow of water through the installation, and Article 15 states that water withdrawal installations must be equipped with a totalizing measuring device, which is read daily if the flow rate that was withdrawn is likely to exceed 100 m³/day, otherwise weekly. Articles 18 to 20 require that effluent treatment facilities are properly maintained and that smells be controlled. With regard to emissions, the decree sets emission limit values that may not be exceeded by the decree authorizing the operations. In particular, Article 27 sets emission limit values for gaseous effluents. Article 30 sets limit values for dust concentration and flux for the iron and steel sector (8°) and for cupola foundries (10°). In addition, as the Directive 2010/75/EU of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions ("IED") has been implemented in France, the Conclusions related to the Best Available Techniques (“BAT conclusions”) are applicable when published.

1. Directive 2018/410 was implemented into French law by Ordinance No. 2019-1034 of 9 October 2019 on the EU ETS (2021-2030).
2. We understand from a French Senate report that the free allocations in the steel sector will be slightly reduced, in particular, because of the updating of the reference levels used to calculate the allocation, which will be reduced by an annual rate during phase 4, of 0.2% for the steel sector. Please note however that the decrease in the reference value is higher for other sectors (up to 1.6%) (Senate report of 9 July 2019 on the challenges of the steel industry in 21st century France).
3. For the first period of the EU ETS (2021-2025), the Ministry of Ecological Transition published a notice on September 20, 2019, listing the installations subject to the EU ETS and detailing those that have applied for free allowance allocations.
4. Also, note that Article 1 of the French Law No. 2019-1147 of 8 November 2019 on energy and climate provides for a 40% reduction in fossil energies consumption - compared to 2012 - by 2030 (compared to 30% previously) for France (codified in Article L. 100-4 of the French Energy Code).

The provisions laid out in Regulation 1013/2006 are applicable in French law pursuant to Articles L. 541-40 et seq. of the French Environmental Code, while Articles L. 541-44 to L. 541-48 lay down the applicable penalties. We are not aware of any plans to change the regulations applicable to the import and export of steel slag and applied products.