Insights
Short technical notes on the questions our clients ask most often, together with our articles in the trade press. Each note is written and signed by Jaime Recasens Grau.
NOTE 01 · CONTRACTS AND SPECIFICATION
What a feedstock specification actually has to contain
Jaime Recasens Grau · October 2026
A specification written as a description of what the plant expects to receive is a different document from one that states what the plant is entitled to reject. Only the second allocates variability to the party that controls the material stream. The note sets out what it must cover: composition ranges, contamination limits by species rather than as a single percentage, moisture and bulk density, piece size and presentation, named prohibited items, sampling and testing with a dispute procedure, and the triggers for rejection and price adjustment.
A specification without a testing method and a rejection consequence is not a specification. It is a hope with a heading.
NOTE 02 · REGULATORY
Recovery or disposal: the classification decides more than the permit
Jaime Recasens Grau · October 2026
Two physically identical processes can be classified differently depending on what happens to the output, how efficiently the input is used and whether a market specification exists. That classification flows through permitting, reporting and whether the sender can claim recycling at all. Before any model is built, the intended classification in the specific jurisdiction, the existence of end-of-waste criteria, the output specification and the client's own reporting needs have to be settled, because gate fees depend on what the customer can claim.
NOTE 03 · DECOMMISSIONING
Five questions before signing for treatment capacity
Jaime Recasens Grau · October 2026
A multi-year decommissioning programme needs capacity that is committed, not merely available. Before signing, the owner should know whether capacity is reserved, what happens if the route becomes unavailable, what specification the dismantling method must meet, how the price adjusts over time and what treatment documentation will be issued.
Compliance on paper and capacity in reality are different purchases. Programmes fail on the second, not the first.
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