Waste Management Legislation

The purpose of UK Waste Legislation is to control the keeping, transport and treatment, deposit and disposal of waste, it controls all sections of the waste management industry including storage, registration, licensing, monitoring, record keeping and controls on specific waste streams such as hazardous waste and clinical waste, as mentioned earlier. 

There will follow further paragraphs on specific areas of legislation including Duty of Care, Carrier Registration, Fit and Proper Persons, Hazardous Waste Regulations, Packaging Waste Regulations, Landfill Tax, Technical Competence, Waste Licensing/Permitting, Health & Safety, Planning, Landfill and Incineration.

Current European Legislation

The Codecision Procedure is the main legislative procedure by which law can be adopted in the EU.

Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC)

• Original directive
• System for the coordinated management of waste within the community
• Foundation for sustainable waste management
• Defines waste and introduces the principles of the waste hierarchy, proximity principle and self sufficiency
• Potential for a review of Annex II: will impact upon recovery and disposal operations defined in the annex

Landfill Directive (99/31/EC) (implemented July 2001)

• Prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment from landfilling waste
• Introduction of stringent technical requirements for waste and landfills
• Ban on specific wastes (2003 whole tyres, 2006 shredded tyres; 2002 liquid hazardous waste, plus other hazardous wastes)
• Pre-treatment (2004 hazardous waste, 2007 all other wastes)
• Targets for reduction of biodegradable waste (2010, 2013, 2020)

Hazardous Waste Directive (91/689/EEC)

• Licensing requirements for handling and treatment of hazardous waste
• Singles out specific waste materials as a consequence of their hazardous nature and potential impact upon health and the environment
• 1st January 2002 single list of hazardous wastes established (added 200 to original list)
• Extended range of hazardous waste materials listed beyond scope of UK Special Waste Regulations

Incineration of Waste (2000/76/EC) (implemented December 2002)

• Extended to cover co-incineration plants
• Sets stricter limit values and technical requirements
• New plants required to comply 2002, existing plants by December 2005

Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC)

• Producer Responsibility legislation
• Lays down essential requirements as to the composition, reuse recovery and recycling of all packaging
• New increased recovery and recycling targets for 2008

End of Life Vehicles Directive (2000/53/EC) (implemented April 2002)

• Waste prevention priority
• Reduce the use of hazardous substances when in vehicle design
• Ease of dismantling, reuse, recovery and recycling of end-of life vehicles priority
• Increase use of recycled materials in vehicle manufacture
• Sets targets and deadlines

Current EU Legislation with Revisions Proposed

Batteries & Accumulators Directive (91/157/EEC)

• Currently under revision due to its limited scope
• New proposals for collection and recycling targets and ban on batteries containing mercury plus phase out of cadmium by 2008

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EC) (implemented 2000)

• Transition period until October 2007
• Permit system, to prevent ad control pollution arisings
• 2003 Commission reviewed compliance and found it to be insufficient
• Revision could change thresholds that determine which installations require IPPC, or inclusion of additional activities on the permitted list of installations

Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EC)

• Revision intends to broaden scope to wider range of sludge's and wider range of receiving land types
• Result in a diversion into other treatment/disposal options
• Require the development of more advanced technologies in the long term

New Legislation 

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (2002/96/EC)

Producer responsibility legislation

• Prevent generation, and promote reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery
• Restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
• Minimise disposal of WEEE as unsorted MSW and set up collection system
• Targets and deadlines set in place from 2005 in terms of collection systems, and 2006 for rates of separation, recovery and recycling

ROHS Directive (2002/95/EC)

Restrictions posed on new electrical and electronic equipment in terms of banning specified hazardous components

• Target date of 1st July 2006 for new electronic and electrical equipment

Proposed EU Directives

Proposed Management of Waste from Extraction Industries Directive

• Applies to waste resulting from extraction, processing and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries
• Provisions are directed at the management of waste facilities
• Minimum supplementary standards are laid down with a proposal that BAT be used

Proposed Framework for the Setting of Eco-design requirements for energy using products Directive

• Looks to set requirements for environmentally relevant product characteristics on a life cycle basis
• Focuses on traded goods not covered by other policy or legislation
• Work in synergy with other EU legislation