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Landfill of waste
The European Parliament wields considerable influence over the EU's environmental policy. It promoted legislation on eg. environmental impact assessments, free access to information and the eco-label for environmentally friendly products. The Treaty of Amsterdam strengthened Parliament's role by extending the codecision procedure to most environmental issues, including waste management. Source: European Parliament Fact Sheets: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/default_en.htm On 16 July 2004, a Council Decision establishing criteria for the acceptance of waste at landfills came into force [ full title ]. The Decision was adopted by EU Ministers in 2002 to complement rules outlined in the earlier Landfill Directive (1999).
Aims of the Directive / Decision The original Landfill Directive was adopted by Parliament and by the Council in 1999. Transposition into national law was subject to a 2001 deadline. The purpose of the Directive was “to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular the pollution of surface water, groundwater, soil and air, and on the global environment, including the greenhouse effect, as well as any resulting risk to human health, from the landfilling of waste, during the whole lifecycle of the landfill”. Provisions cover location of landfills, water control and leachate management, water and methane emissions control, and protection of soil. The Directive sets targets to reduce biodegradable municipal landfill to 75% of 1995 amounts by 2010, 50% in 2013, and 35% by 2020. The Directive also promotes a uniform waste classification and acceptance procedure, together with the relevant sampling procedures, and criteria which have to be fulfilled for certain hazardous waste to be accepted in landfills for non-hazardous waste. A technical committee was given three years (from 1999) to prepare the Decision, see paragraph below, which has now come into force.
The Council Decision establishing criteria for the acceptance of waste at landfills updates temporary measures contained in the original Landfill Directive. It also clarifies conditions in which hazardous waste may be accepted at non-hazardous waste (eg. municipal) landfills. Before waste can be accepted, its composition must be known --or determined by testing. Landfill site operators are required to anticipate how different types of waste react: with one another; in the presence of leachage liquid and gas; and with the environment of the landfill. Waste which does not fall within the operational requirements of the site may not be accepted. In effect, co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is no longer acceptable practice. [ top ]
European Parliament impact and debates
The European Parliament made a number of changes to the Commission's initial proposal. In particular, at second reading, Parliament put forward amendments insisting on:-
Below are excerpts of the parliamentary debate on 8 February 1999, and a link to the full transcript.
Caroline Jackson (Conservative, South West), introduced her report and a lively debate:– The landfill directive is one of the most important environmental directives the European Parliament has dealt with in recent years. It marks the beginning of a major shift in waste management practice in Europe. For the public this is the end of an era in which many people in many countries have had to give very little thought to what happens to the waste they produce. Seven countries currently landfill more than half of the municipal waste they produce. These are Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. For these countries in particular, this directive marks the end of what one might call the throwaway society. It also marks the beginning of an intensive period of innovation of waste management restructuring and, above all, of expenditure on other means of disposal by taxpayers. I represent part of the south-west of England and a recent study that I did of the local authorities in the south-west of England led me to the conclusion that most of them were thinking very hard about schemes for recycling and reuse and recovery of waste. However, none of them had actually been able to move near the kind of demands which this directive is going to make on them within the next five to ten years. The three key features of the directive are firstly the promotion of the move away from landfill to what are considered more environmentally acceptable alternatives. I use the words 'what are considered more environmentally acceptable alternatives' advisedly since I personally do not have much faith in the hierarchy of waste management alternatives. Secondly, the directive calls for the establishment of European Union wide standards for proper management of landfills; thirdly, it should result in the discouragement of the transport of waste across frontiers – waste tourism we call it – by removing the disparities between the practices and prices relating to landfill in the 15 Member States so that waste simply searches for the cheapest hole. This evening and tomorrow when we vote, we pass the baton now to Members of Parliament and, above all, to local councillors in our various countries, some of whom may be here in the gallery tonight. I cannot think of a directive that better illustrates the partnerships that must exist between legislators at the European, national and local levels.
Graham Watson (Liberal Democrat, South West) also spoke: In the south-west of England we landfill more than 85 % of our waste. We have a rapidly growing level of environmental consciousness leading to much composting and much landfill geared specifically to the production of biogas. Indeed, I launched a report this morning called 'The Greening of Somerset' in which we pointed to what Liberal Democrat authorities have done in this direction. We are proud of our record. We are making great strides but I will vote against Amendments Nos 11 and 18 because I believe they are almost impossible to attain, will demoralise the industry and add very substantially to the costs imposed on waste site operators and on local authorities. In conclusion, I favour the use of legislation to push, to coax and to accelerate change but there are many ways to crack an egg. Using a sledgehammer is only one of them. These two amendments are the sledgehammer approach.
Transcription of the full debate: [ top ]
DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, are in charge of implementation in the UK. The policy in relation to the Landfill Directive is set out on their website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/landfill-dir/index.htm Useful information for local authorities, as well as those who produce and those who handle hazardous waste is available at www.hazardouswaste.org.uk - a website produced by The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). [ top ]
EU legislation on waste The Waste Framework Directive (1) lays down basic obligations for Member States when it comes to dealing with waste. Member States must ensure that the disposal and recovery of waste takes place in such a way as to prevent any risk to water, air, soil, plants and animals. Furthermore, they must not allow waste disposal to constitute a public nuisance through excessive noise levels or unpleasant odours, or to degrade places of special natural interest. Member States must prohibit the dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste. They must also establish an integrated and effective network of waste disposal plants, prepare waste management plans, ensure that those who store waste handle it properly, and ensure that waste treatment operations receive a permit (that is, a license). Waste collectors must have special authorisation to operate or be registered. Companies carrying out waste collection or disposal must undergo periodic inspections. Such companies must also keep records of the waste that they handle. The deadline for implementing the original Directive was 1977. Amendments to strengthen and clarify the 1977 Directive came into force in 1993. The Hazardous Waste Directive (2) sets the framework for EU standards for the management of hazardous waste. As such, it complements the Waste Framework Directive which provides a legislative framework for all waste, whether hazardous or not. In particular it establishes the key definitions of what constitutes waste, disposal and recovery. The concept of hazardous waste is defined in the Hazardous Waste Directive and this in turn is linked to a binding list called the Hazardous Waste List (3). The Landfill Directive (4) establishes a set of detailed requirements that must be met with regard to waste landfills. The objective is to help prevent or attenuate the negative effects that unacceptable landfill sites can have on the environment. These effects include polluted surface water, groundwater, soil and air. Landfills can also have a negative effect on the global environment by, for example, creating a greenhouse effect and by posing a risk to human health. The Directive bans certain types of waste from landfill sites, for example used tyres, and requires Member States to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste to 35% of 1995 levels. This measure will help to reduce the negative impacts of landfilling and promote the recovery of waste. The deadline for implementation of the Directive was 16 July 2001. The Waste Oil Directive (5) is designed to create a harmonised system for the collection, treatment, storage and disposal of waste oils, such as lubricant oils for vehicles and engines. The Directive also aims to protect the environment against the harmful effects of such operations. Waste oils are hazardous because they are carcinogenic. Untreated waste oils that are found in rivers, lakes and streams can threaten aquatic life. Untreated oils left on the ground can contaminate the soil. The Directive requires Member States to give priority to the regeneration of waste oils over other disposal methods. The PCB/PCT Directive (6) covers several hazardous chemicals that represent a particular threat to the environment because of their toxicity, durability and tendency to bio-accumulate (i.e. accumulate in living tissue). The aim of the Directive is to streamline legislation in the Member States with regard to the decontamination or disposal of equipment containing PCBs, and the disposal of used PCBs in order to ensure their complete elimination. The Batteries Directive (7) aims to promote the recovery and controlled disposal of spent batteries and accumulators containing dangerous substances and, thereby, to reduce the impact of battery waste on the environment. The Directive was amended by Commission Directive 98/101/EC, which requires Member States to ban, by 1 January 2000 at the latest, batteries and accumulators containing more than 0.0005% of mercury by weight. Only button cells may contain up to 2% mercury. The Packaging Waste Directive (8) aims to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and its waste on the environment. It sets percentage targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste and requires Member States to set up collection, recycling and recovery schemes for this waste stream. The Waste Shipment Regulation (9) requires that strict EU environmental criteria are applied to the supervision and control of waste shipments into, out of and within the EU. The aim is to ensure a high level of environmental and human health protection, while at the same time safeguarding rights under the internal market. The Waste Shipments Regulation distinguishes between waste intended for disposal and waste intended for recovery (1) Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC Source: European Commission: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleases [ top ]
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Full title of Directive / Decision, reference of publication in the Official Journal, link to the texts. Council Decision of 19 December 2002 establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfills pursuant to Article 16 of and Annex II to Directive 1999/31/EC (2003/33/EC). Official Journal L 011 , 16/01/2003 P. 0027 - 0049. Online on the European Commission's website at http://europa.eu.int/ Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste. Official Journal L 182 , 16/07/1999 P. 0001 - 0019. Online on the European Commission's website at http://europa.eu.int/ [ top ] |
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