Working Group Proposes Wider Disclosure of Waste Data

A working group established by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment is proposing wider disclosure of waste and product information held by public authorities. This change may come to foster greater utilisation of waste resources but at the same time pose challenges for businesses operating in a competitive market. A report published by the working group on a new Circular Economy Act intended to replace the current Waste Act includes a proposal to define in greater detail which waste and product information must be made public, notwithstanding business secrecy protections. It is our understanding that the definitions proposed go significantly further than the current scope of public environmental information.

Public authorities have been increasingly collecting waste-related data that is utilised e.g., for supervision, statistics, reporting for the EU and national policy planning. Under Finnish law, documents held by public authorities are, in principle, public and available upon request. The person requesting access is not required to identify themselves or give reasons for their request. Currently, most of the data remains for the authorities’ own use or is published in a compiled format, as the detailed data can be considered a business secret.

1. the origin, type, quality, characteristics, and quantity of the waste

2. information regarding the collection, transport, transfer, and treatment of the waste, as well as the products resulting from the treatment of the waste

3. information regarding products diverted for reuse and their quantities

4. information on products covered by an extended producer responsibility scheme that have been placed on the market and their quantities

5. information on waste producers, transporters, brokers, and processors, as well as producers subject to extended producer responsibility

6. legislation-based plans and administrative measures related to the circular economy that affect or may affect the environment, its parts, and factors

7. other waste or product information that affects or may affect the state of the environment.

The proposed statute would, nevertheless, allow some case-by-case balancing, as to whether disclosure of waste and product information would be justified, considering the significance of public interest in relation to access to information and participatory rights versus business secrets. For instance, the accuracy of published waste volumes could be more sensitive for waste transporters than for businesses producing waste and therefore subject to various interpretations. Public authorities could come to publish this waste and product information on an online information service with search functionalities.  

The above has the potential to advance the circular economy by making compiled waste resource information more accessible to businesses, researchers, and public authorities alike. Unpredictable interpretations may complicate the development of the information systems and hinder the discovery of waste materials that have potential as raw materials. Easier access to this data could, in principle, help identify new opportunities for waste recovery and reuse. On the other hand, dissenting opinions of the working group note that this information, such as locations and volumes of assets, can be utilised by competitors or even criminals to identify valuable metals.

The working group’s report will serve as a starting point for drafting the government’s proposal, and many of the themes raised in the report will attract political attention for future debate and further drafting. Currently, the intended timeline for drafting is to divide the reform into two parts where the most urgent amendments related to EU law and the government programme would be sent to Parliament in the second half of 2026 and a more comprehensive reform earliest in the second half of 2028.

We will continue to monitor the progress of the reform. If you have any questions about how the proposed changes may affect your business, please do not hesitate to contact our Projects & Environment team.