The Landfill Directive, more formally Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999, is a

European Union directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the goals of one or more new or changed n ...

which regulates

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

s in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. It was to be implemented by EU

Member States A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

by 16 July 2001. Directive (EU) 2018/850 amended the 1999 directive with effect from 5 July 2020. The Directive's overall aim is "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 The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

, as well as any resulting risk to human health, from the landfilling of waste, during the whole life-cycle of the landfill". This legislation also has important implications for

waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

handling and

waste disposal Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final Waste disposal, disposal. This includes the Waste collection, collection, transport, Sewage treatment, treatm ...

Outline

The Directive is applicable to all

sites and divides them into three classes: * landfills for

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

* landfills for non-hazardous waste * landfills for inert waste Waste disposal into landfills is restricted by banning certain waste types, which may pose a risk. The following wastes may not be disposed of in a landfill and must either be recovered, recycled or disposed of in other ways. * liquid waste *

flammable A combustible material is a material that can burn (i.e., sustain a flame) in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort ...

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. To avoid further risks, allowed wastes are subject to a standard waste acceptance procedure, which dictates the following terms: * 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 acceptance criteria and the acceptance process are further specified in the Council Decision 2003/33/EC.

Implementation

Member States must report to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

every three years on the

implementation Implementation is the realization of an application, execution of a plan, idea, scientific modelling, model, design, specification, Standardization, standard, algorithm, policy, or the Management, administration or management of a process or Goal ...

of the Directive. According to the Directive, the amount of

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...

municipal waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, a ...

must be reduced to 50% in 2009 and to 35% in 2016 (compared to 1995 levels). In 2009, 10 years after the enactment of the Landfill Directive, the

European Environment Agency The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment. Definition The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides ...

published a report, which closely analysed the progress on implementing the Directive in the Member States. Its close analysis focuses on five countries and one sub-national region: Estonia, Finland, the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

of Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy. According to this report, significant progress has been made, largely due to two core factors: *setting medium- and long-term targets for reducing landfilling enabled Member States to define waste strategies and monitor their progress continuously. *the directive's flexibility allowed Member States to try out different policies and adapt and adjust approaches "to match national and regional realities".

References

External links

EU legislation summaryText of the directive and modificationsNational implementing measures in the EU countriesCouncil Decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfillsDiverting waste from landfill. Effectiveness of waste-management policies in the European Union
(Report by the

) {{Waste Landfill Waste legislation in the European Union European Union directives 1999 in law 1999 in the European Union

Outline

Implementation

See also

References

External links