National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 59014:2024.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee SES/1/5, Environmental Management - Life cycle tools and techniques.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2024.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, Subcommittee SC 5, Life cycle assessment, in collaboration with Technical Committee ISO/TC 323, Circular economy.

This first edition cancels and replaces IWA 19:2017, which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

extended focus going beyond the recovery of metals from recoverable resources;
inclusion of operational requirements;
proper recognition of subsistence activities;
alignment with most recent developments in the ISO 59000 family of standards;
consideration of life cycle perspective for achieving the best environmental and social outcome from the recovery of secondary materials;
comprehensive focus on circular economy with the inclusion of a pathway methodology for the recovery of secondary materials.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

0.1 Background

The global economy is “linear” as it is mainly based on extraction, production, use and disposal. This linear economy leads to resource depletion, biodiversity loss, waste and harmful losses and releases, all of which collectively are causing serious damage to the capacity of the planet to continue to provide for the needs of future generations.^[¹⁸^] Moreover, several planetary boundaries have already been reached or exceeded.

There is an increased understanding that a transition towards an economy that is more circular, based on a circular use of resources, can contribute to meeting current and future human needs (welfare, housing, nutrition, healthcare, mobility, etc.). Transitioning towards a circular economy can also contribute to the creation and sharing of more value within society and interested parties, while natural resources are managed to be replenished and renewed and in a sustainable way, securing the quality and resilience of ecosystems.

Organizations recognize many potential reasons to engage in a circular economy (e.g. delivering more ambitious and sustainable solutions; improved relationships with interested parties; more effective and efficient ways to fulfil voluntary commitments or legal requirements; engaging in climate change mitigation or adaptation; managing resource scarcity risks, increasing resilience in the environmental, social and economic systems), while contributing to satisfying human needs.

The ISO 59000 family of standards (see Figure 1) is designed to harmonize the understanding of the circular economy and to support its implementation and measurement. It also considers organizations, such as government, industry and non-profit, in contributing to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.^[¹⁹^]

Responsible, efficient and sustainable management of recoverable resources is a key action for organizations to keep more materials in a circular economy. This action is needed to respond to existing risks and impacts and growing consumer interest about the materials used, and to prevent the shifting of environmental or social impacts between life cycle stages, organizations, communities or countries. This specifically applies to organizations involved in activities and processes leading to the recovery and further use of secondary materials.

The management of waste that is considered a recoverable resource represents an important economic opportunity, while also contributing to reducing the demand for and extraction of virgin resources. The processing and subsequent use of secondary materials prevents the disposal of a resource that can provide value to another interested party(ies) and, thus, supports achieving environmental goals and improving the situation in many regions of the world.

However, inadequate waste management, poor working conditions, and lack of health and safety procedures pose risks and impacts to human health and the environment. These risks often go unidentified or ignored, particularly affecting workers in subsistence activities, communities, and the environment.

Furthermore, consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental and social risks and impacts associated with the materials and products they purchase. Interested parties want to be informed if a recycled material is sustainably produced.

Traceability plays an important role in the circular flow of resources as it allows for the flow of recoverable and recovered resources, including secondary materials, to be tracked and accounted. The ISO 14000 family of standards supports efforts to identify the risks and opportunities of the preparation and use of secondary materials and to provide harmonized approaches for their environmental management. A key element is the link of environmental and social impacts in the life cycle of materials.

This document aligns with the ISO 14000 family of standards on environmental management (see Figure 2) and can also contribute to enhancing the harmonization system codes (HS code) for secondary materials.

0.2 Purpose and the outline of this document

This document provides principles, requirements and guidance to any kind of organization seeking to recover secondary materials. It describes the main terms and definitions (see Clause 3), principles (see Clause 4), activities, processes and organizations (see Clause 5), operational requirements (see Clause 6), organizational requirements (see Clause 7) and traceability requirements (see Clause 8).

1 Scope

This document provides principles, requirements and guidance for organizations in fostering the sustainability and traceability of activities and processes for the recovery of secondary materials.

This document also specifies requirements and provides guidance for organizations that engage with individuals involved in subsistence activities (SAs) as part of the organization’s activities and processes for the recovery of secondary materials, with the aim of ensuring safe and healthy working conditions and the continual improvement of the well-being, livelihoods and professional practices of those individuals.

This document is applicable to organizations seeking to recover secondary materials systematically and responsibly using life cycle and circular economy perspectives, regardless of their size, type and location.

This document does not provide quality criteria for specific types of secondary materials recovered. Energy recovery and disposal are outside the scope of this document.

The collection, classification, sorting and non-destructive processes can lead to the recovery of components and products. The preparation and processing of products or components for their reuse or reprocessing (e.g. for repurposing, remanufacturing, refurbishment and repair) are outside the scope of this document.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principles

4.1 General

4.2 Respect for interested parties’ interests

4.3 Value chain responsibility

4.4 Responsibility towards interested parties engaged in subsistence activities

4.5 Safe, healthy, and equitable working conditions

4.6 Protection of the environment

4.7 Resource conservation

4.8 Life cycle perspective

4.9 Enabling of circular resource flow using secondary materials

5 Activities, processes and organizations

5.1 Activities and processes

5.2 Organizations

5.3 Recovery pathway

5.4 Subsistence activities

6 Operational requirements

6.1 General

6.2 Classification and determination of recovery pathways

6.3 Collection

6.4 Sorting

6.5 Material recovery processes

6.6 Logistics

7 Organizational requirements

7.1 Monitoring and evaluation

7.2 Interested party engagement

7.3 Responsibility towards the value chain

7.4 Responsibility towards individuals engaged in subsistence activities

7.5 Equitable working conditions

7.6 Risks

7.7 Resource use

7.8 Competencies and training

8 Traceability requirements

8.1 General

8.2 Collection of upstream data

8.3 Collection of processing data

8.4 Collection of downstream data

8.5 Collection of depollution data

8.6 Communication

8.7 Continual improvement

Bibliography

BS ISO 59014:2024

Environmental management and circular economy. Sustainability and traceability of the recovery of secondary materials. Principles, requirements and guidance

Current

Published:

31 Oct 2024