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The European Union has legislated a comprehensive Directive on
landfills of all types. I reproduce below a
summary downloaded from the European Council website (copyright ©
European Communities, 1995-2008, reproduction authorised). Hyperlinks
are given as is, without guarantee. Slight modifications have been made
to the pagination but not to the content.
This summary omits mention of some important provisions:
- municipal waste going to landfills must have its biodegradable
content progressively reduced in stages by 65% by 2016, referred to 1995
levels.
- the location and implementation shall not cause environmental harm;
existing landfills shall be dealt with accordingly within one year.
- leachate shall be treated.
- geological barriers of impermeable materials of given thicknesses of
1 m upwards shall be used.
- landfill gas from sites with biodegradable waste shall be collected
and used to provide energy or flared.
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
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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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