Glossary
Glossary term

re-use

A circularity term for keeping a product, component, battery, or material in use rather than sending it straight to recycling or disposal.

6 official sources1 context sourceRelated definitions

What does re-use mean?

Re-use helps explain the higher-value end-of-life options that can come before material recovery. The EU Waste Framework Directive focuses on products or components that are not waste and are used again for the same purpose. Brazil’s National Solid Waste Policy uses Portuguese wording for using solid waste without biological, physical, or physicochemical transformation. DIN battery-passport context reinforces the need to represent re-use as a lifecycle pathway distinct from recycling.

Source context

This page combines EU Waste Framework Directive wording, Brazil National Solid Waste Policy wording, and DIN battery-passport context. The Portuguese legal text remains authoritative for the Brazil source layer, with a draft English translation for readability. DIN is treated as implementation context. ELV source context: EU and UK end-of-life vehicle rules use this term inside vehicle waste, treatment, dismantling, reuse, recycling, recovery, disposal, and certificate workflows. For auto customers, connect the term to vehicle identity, authorised treatment facility records, certificate evidence, and downstream material routes. Türkiye ELV context: the Turkish regulation uses official Turkish terms for ELV, temporary storage area, treatment, treatment facility, dismantling information, recycler/recovery/disposal concepts, and producer/economic-operator roles. Treat the Turkish official definition as authoritative; English translations are draft aids only. NSW motor vehicle recycler context: this Australia layer is official NSW Government guidance linked to the Motor Dealers and Repairers Act/Regulation. It supports state-specific dismantling and recycled-parts evidence, but it is not a national Australian ELV regime and should not be merged with US, EU, UK, India, China, or Türkiye ELV terms. PPWR context: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 defines packaging, packaging waste, prevention, reuse/refill systems, recyclability, and packaging actor roles for the EU packaging regime. Do not collapse PPWR producer/manufacturer/importer/distributor or market-entry wording into other product, battery, waste, or ELV source meanings.

Official definitions by source

Brazil National Solid Waste Policy

Law No. 12.305 of 2 August 2010 — National Solid Waste Policy

processo de aproveitamento dos resíduos sólidos sem sua transformação biológica, física ou físico-química, observadas as condições e os padrões estabelecidos pelos órgãos competentes do Sisnama e, se couber, do SNVS e do Suasa

Brazil source-specific definition; Portuguese text is authoritative and the English translation is a draft Minespider working translation.

Reference: Article 3, point XVIII

View official source

EU Waste Framework Directive

Directive 2008/98/EC on waste

any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived

Waste Framework Directive backbone definition; preserve separately from battery-specific, product-specific, or jurisdiction-specific definitions.

Reference: Article 3, point 13

View official source

EU Critical Raw Materials Act

Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials

re-use as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Directive 2008/98/EC

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act incorporates this definition by reference to Directive 2008/98/EC Article 3, point 13; the referenced act remains the primary source for the underlying definition.

Reference: Article 2, point 36

View official source

EU ELV Directive

Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles

any operation by which components of end-of life vehicles are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived

Reference: Article 2, point 6

View official source

UK ELV Regulations

The End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003

any operation by which components of end-of-life vehicles are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived

Reference: Regulation 2

View official source

Türkiye ELV Regulation

Ömrünü Tamamlamış Araçların Kontrolü Hakkında Yönetmelik

Ömrünü tamamlamış araçlara ait parçaların ilk üretim amacına uygun ve herhangi bir tehlike yaratmamak şartıyla kullanılmaları için yürütülen her türlü faaliyeti

Reference: Madde 4

View official source

Standards and implementation context

These entries are non-verbatim context summaries. They are not presented as public legal definitions.

DIN DKE SPEC 99100

DIN DKE SPEC 99100:2025-02 — Requirements for data attributes of the battery passport

DIN DKE SPEC 99100 uses re-use as battery-passport implementation context for lifecycle pathways where a battery or related object continues to be used rather than moving directly to recycling or disposal.

Non-verbatim implementation-context summary only; not a verbatim DIN definition. DIN DKE SPEC 99100 is a copyrighted standard, so this page gives context rather than republishing the standard text.

Reference: Section 3 lifecycle terminology

How the definitions differ

Re-use is the pathway where a product, component, battery, or material is used again instead of being sent directly to recycling or disposal. It preserves use value and should be distinguished from preparation for re-use, repurposing, and material recovery.

Practical application

Re-use records should capture the identity record, status, condition evidence, safety check, responsible actor, same-purpose or next-use context, preparation steps where relevant, and next lifecycle stage before a battery, module, component, or material is treated as still in use.

Minespider commentary

Re-use is a continued-use evidence control: the evidence consequence is that passport or waste records can show when use value was preserved before repurposing, recycling, treatment, or final-destination workflows.

Common confusions

  • Do not confuse re-use with recycling; re-use keeps the object or component in use, while recycling recovers materials through a different process.
  • Do not confuse re-use with preparation for re-use, which is a defined waste-management operation in EU waste-law contexts.
  • Do not use re-use as a vague sustainability claim without condition, safety, identity, and responsibility evidence.