Recital 15

(15)Good waste management is a building block of the circular economy and helps prevent waste from having a negative impact on the environment and human health. The Union legislation on waste ¹⁴ improves waste management by setting out a ‘waste hierarchy’ under which waste prevention, preparing for re-use and recycling are the preferred options, followed by other recovery, including energy recovery and only as a last resort, disposal such as incineration without energy recovery or landfilling. The technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which a specific economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to the transition to a circular economy should therefore aim at preventing or reducing waste generation, increasing the preparation for re-use and recycling of waste, avoiding down cycling and disposal of waste. Taking into account that materials suitable for being reintroduced into the circular economy, such as metals and inorganic salts, can be recycled from combustion products, in particular from bottom ashes from non-hazardous waste incineration, the establishment of technical screening criteria for that recycling activity is to be considered.