Waste
Landfill of Waste
 Council
Directive 99/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste
entered into force on 16.07.1999. The deadline for implementation
of the legislation in the Member States was 16.07.2001.
The objective of the Directive is to prevent or
reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment from
the landfilling of waste, by introducing stringent technical requirements
for waste and landfills.
The Directive is intended to prevent or reduce
the adverse effects of the landfill of waste on the environment,
in particular on surface water, groundwater, soil, air and human
health.
It defines the different categories of waste (municipal
waste, hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste and inert waste) and
applies to all landfills, defined as waste disposal sites for the
deposit of waste onto or into land. Landfills are divided into three
classes:
- landfills for hazardous waste;
- landfills for non-hazardous waste;
- landfills for inert waste.
The Directive does not apply to:
- the spreading on the soil of sludges (including sewage sludges
and sludges resulting from dredging operations);
- the use in landfills of inert waste for redevelopment or restoration
work;
- the deposit of unpolluted soil or of non-hazardous inert waste
resulting from prospecting and extraction, treatment and storage
of mineral resources as well as from the operation of quarries;
- the deposit of non-hazardous dredging sludges alongside small
waterways from which they have been dredged and of non-hazardous
sludges in surface water, including the bed and its subsoil.
A standard waste acceptance procedure is laid down
so as to avoid any risks:
- waste must be treated before being landfilled;
- hazardous waste within the meaning of the Directive must be
assigned to a hazardous waste landfill;
- landfills for non-hazardous waste must be used for municipal
waste and for non-hazardous waste;
- landfill sites for inert waste must be used only for inert waste;
- criteria for the acceptance of waste at each landfill class
must be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the general
principles of Annex II.
The following wastes may not be accepted in a landfill:
- liquid waste;
- flammable waste;
- explosive or oxidising waste;
- hospital and other clinical waste which is infectious;
- used tyres, with certain exceptions;
- any other type of waste which does not meet the acceptance criteria
laid down in Annex II.
The Directive sets up a system of operating permits
for landfill sites. Applications for permits must contain the following
information:
- the identity of the applicant and, in some cases, of the operator;
- a description of the types and total quantity of waste to be
deposited;
- the capacity of the disposal site;
- a description of the site;
- the proposed methods for pollution prevention and abatement;
- the proposed operation, monitoring and control plan;
- the plan for closure and aftercare procedures;
- the applicant's financial security;
- an impact assessment study, where required under Council Directive
85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public
and private projects on the environment.
Member States must ensure that existing landfill
sites may not continue to operate unless they comply with the provisions
of the Directive as soon as possible.
Member States must report to the Commission every
three years on the implementation of the Directive.
On the basis of these reports, the Commission must
publish a Community report on the implementation of the Directive.
Studies
Reports
- Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
on the national strategies for the reduction of biodegradable
waste going to landfills pursuant to Article 5(1) of Directive
1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste
- Commission working document with the annex to the report
Legislation
Summary
of EU Waste Legisation on Landfill
- Directive
99/31/EC on landfill of waste
Ancillary legislation relating to landfill of waste:
- Commission Decision 2000/738/EC concerning a questionnaire
for Member States reports on the implementation of Directive 1999/31/EC
on the landfill of waste
- Proposal for a Decision on acceptance criteria, COM(2002)
512
- 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)
Information on islands and isolated settlements
exempted by Member States under Article 3(4) of the Landfill Directive
Pursuant to Article 3(4) of the Landfill Directive Member States
may declare, at their own option, parts or all of Articles 6d),
7i), 8a)iv), 10, 11 1) a), b) and c), 12a) and c), Annex I, points
3 and 4, Annex II except point 3, level 3, and point 4) and Annex
III, points 3 to 5 to this Directive not applicable to:
A) landfill sites for non-hazardous or inert wastes with a total
capacity not exceeding 15 000 tonnes or with an annual intake
not exceeding 1 000 tonnes serving islands, where this is the
only landfill on the island and where this is exclusively destined
for the disposal of waste generated on that island. Once the total
capacity of that landfill has been used, any new landfill established
on the island shall comply with the requirements of this Directive;
B) landfill sites for non-hazardous waste or inert waste in isolated
settlements if the landfill is destined for the disposal of waste
generated only by that isolated settlement.
By 16 July 2003 Member States had to notify the Commission of the
list of islands and isolated settlements that are exempted. The
Commission shall publish the list of islands and isolated settlements.
To date the Commission has received such lists from two Member
States:
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