Waste management: landfill

The Commission presents a report on the implementation of the EU legislation on waste over the period 2007 - 2009. It covers Directives 2006/12/EC on waste, 91/689/EC on hazardous waste, 75/439/EEC on waste oils, 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge, 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles.

The Communication recalls that evidence shows that full implementation of EU waste legislation would save EUR 72 billion a year, increase the annual turnover of the EU waste management and recycling sector by EUR 42 billion and create over 400 000 jobs by 2020. However, the report states that illegal waste operations or missing infrastructure in Member States are causing missed opportunities for economic growth, which the EU cannot afford, and leading to environmental threats. It is therefore paramount to take decisive steps to bridge the implementation gap in waste management and move towards a resource efficient society.

The report notes that Member States’ reports for the period 2007 to 2009 indicate that EU legislation on waste is to a large extent properly transposed into national legislation. 

However, for other Directives, there are important problems with practical implementation and enforcement, with the Hazardous Waste Directive, the 2006 WFD, and the Landfill Directive raising biggest concerns.

Landfill Directive: whereas its strict requirements are often transposed into national law and measures are taken to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill, the number of non-compliant landfills that are still in operation remains a matter of concern. Another serious problem is the overall rate of landfilling, whilst some Member States have shown that reduction to near zero rates is feasible, several others largely depend on this least favourable waste management option. This requires particular attention in view of the policy priority of the Roadmap for a Resource Efficient Europe to virtually eliminate landfilling.

Many Member States have taken measures to eliminate it completely, and were very successful in this respect (landfilling rates for municipal waste had fallen below 5% in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden).

However, in many countries landfilling is a predominant (if not the only available) municipal waste management option for. Significant efforts need to be made by the latter countries to change the situation and drastically reduce landfilling.

All Member States reported having taken measures to reduce the landfilling of municipal waste, including prevention programmes, and to have adopted national strategies and measures to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfills. Data provided on the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfills show that the amount of such waste is continuously reduced: out of the 19 Member States for which data can be compared with that from the previous report, 11 were able to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills.

According to the available data, at the end of the reporting period 2007 - 2009, there was still a considerable number of non-compliant landfills in operation, although their number has decreased in comparison with the previous report (especially in the case of landfills for non-hazardous waste). The majority of Member States indicated that all landfills in operation, including landfills for inert waste, complied with the requirements of the Directive. Four Member States reported only a small share of compliant landfills, with the rest requiring upgrading and modernisation.

The Commission will review the targets for diversion of biodegradable waste from landfills and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council in 2014, if appropriate accompanied by a proposal.