Tag Archives: Waste management

Animal by-products

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Animal by-products

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Food safety > Animal nutrition

Animal by-products

Document or Iniciative

Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002.

Summary

This Regulation facilitates the efficient management of animal by-products whilst maintaining the high level of protection that is currently in place against risks to public and animal health and to the environment.

Products concerned

This Regulation shall apply to:

animal by-products * and derived products * which are not intended for human consumption;
products intended for purposes other than human consumption:
- products of animal origin which may be destined for human consumption;
- raw materials for the production of products of animal origin.

End point in the manufacturing chain

This Regulation introduces the notion of an “end point” in the manufacturing of animal by-products, beyond which they are no longer subject to the rules governing this type of product, since potential risks have been eliminated. Instead, the general rules on product safety are to apply. As an example, where animal fat produced by an incinerating factory is processed and the product of that transformation is used to produce plastics, the probability that the final product might transmit a significant biological risk is very slight.

Essential guarantees for public and animal health

Products of animal origin may be used outside the food chain for various purposes: skins for leather production, powdered milk to feed animals, and blood products in diagnostic medical devices. Such by-products may be a vector of diseases affecting human beings or animals when they are used in animal feedingstuffs or to produce technical products.

This Regulation preserves the basic guarantees introduced in 2003 against such risks. In particular, it maintains:

a risk-based categorisation of animal by-products which determines whether they may be used as animal feedingstuffs, for the manufacture of technical products or for other purposes, or whether they must be destroyed;
an obligation for Member States and operators to ensure that animal by-products are collected and disposed of as soon as possible;
the exclusion of products that are unfit for hum an consumption from the feed chain for farmed animals; and lastly
a ban on feeding animals of one species with material derived from the same species (“intra-species recycling ban”).

A more coherent legal framework

Animal by-products are used to produce cosmetics, medicines and diagnostic medical devices. When they are used for the manufacture of such products, they are subject to other provisions of European law. Slaughterhouses, milk factories and other food establishments manufacturing animal by-products are already bound by European legislation on human food or animal feedingstuffs, and are the subject of inspections in this regard.

This Regulation aims at improving coherency between other provisions of European law and the health rules applying to animal by-products. The potential risks are tackled with respect to the appropriate legislation, which avoids operators being exposed to unnecessary constraints.

Being based on experience gained, this Regulation clarifies under which circumstances and in what way environmental legislation shall apply to operations involving animal by-products. This legislation applies for example where the spreading of manure as a fertiliser has effects on soil and the groundwater table.

Comitology

The current categorisation of animal by-products may now be amended by the Commission under the comitology procedure. Prior to any change, a scientific organisation such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or the Scientific Committee for Consumer Products (SCCP) must assess the possible risks of a specific animal by-product for public and animal health.

Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 shall be repealed with effect from 4 March 2011.

Key terms of the Act
Animal by-products: entire bodies or parts of animals, products of animal origin or other products obtained from animals, which are not intended for human consumption, including oocytes, embryos and semen. Derived products: products obtained from one or more treatments, transformations or steps of processing of animal by-products.

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Regulation (EC) No 41/2009	10.2.2009	–	OJ L 16 of 21.1.2009

Landfill of waste

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Landfill of waste

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Landfill of waste

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Environment > Tackling climate change

Landfill of waste

Document or Iniciative

Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste [See amending acts].

Summary

The Directive is intended to prevent or reduce the adverse effects of the landfill of waste on the environment.

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.

On the other hand, 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.

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;

References

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Directive 1999/31/EC	16.07.1999	16.07.2001	OJ L 182 of 16.07.1999

Amending act(s)	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003	20.11.2003	–	OJ L 284 of 31.10.2003
Regulation (EC) No 1137/2008	11.12.2008	–	OJ L 311 of 21.11.2008

Successive amendments and corrections to Directive 1999/31/EC have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Related Acts

Information on islands and isolated settlements excluded by Member States under Article 3(4) of the Landfill Directive [Official Journal C 316 of 13 December 2005].

Council Decision 2003/33/EC 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 [Official Journal L 11 of 16.01.2003].

Commission Decision 2000/738/EC of 17 November 2000 concerning a questionnaire for Member States’ reports on the implementation of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste [Official Journal L 298 of 25.11.2000].

Reports

Report from the Commission of 20 November 2009 on implementation of the community waste legislation Directive 2006/12/EC on waste, Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils, Directive 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge, Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste and Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment for the period 2004-2006 [COM(2009) 633 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
The implementation of the Directive on the landfill of waste remains highly unsatisfactory and considerable efforts need to be undertaken to improve it. Ten years after the adoption of the Directive, not all Member States report having transposed and implemented all its provisions. There are still a large number of illegal landfills, which do not have the authorisations required by EU legislation on waste. A vast majority of Member States did not meet the deadline of 16 July 2009 to ensure that all sub-standard landfills (unless specifically derogated) that existed before the introduction of the Directive complied with its requirements. Only nine Member States report having met the 2006 targets for the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfills and capture of landfill gas appears insufficient.
In 2009, thirteen non-conformity cases and eleven bad application cases were pending against Member States. In response to these systemic failures of Member States to properly implement the EU waste legislation, the Commission has taken a strategic approach.

Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on implementation of the Community waste legislation: Directive 75/442/EEC, Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils, Directive 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge, Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste and Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste for the period 2001-2003 [COM(2006) 406 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Some Member States have made use of the possibility of excluding certain wastes or landfills from some provisions of the Directive (for example remote sites and underground storage). In a certain number of countries, a very high number of landfills for non-hazardous waste and for inert waste will have to be re-equipped or closed by 2009 to conform to the Directive. Most Member States have defined some criteria for wastes acceptable in landfills and prepared national strategies for reducing biodegradable waste going to landfills. The Commission has initiated infringement cases because of the numerous unauthorised landfills for failing to ensure that all operators of existing landfills had presented their conditioning plans by 16 July 2002.

Report from the Commission of 30 March 2005 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 [COM(2005) 105 – not published in the Official Journal].
By January 2004 the Commission had received the national strategies from twelve Member States (Ireland and Spain did not submit their strategies and Finland submitted its strategy too late to be included in the report). Belgium and the United Kingdom presented their strategies on a regional basis. The ten new Member States were also to submit their strategies after accession.
The report points out that all the strategies promote composting, recycling of paper and energy recovery. Most strategies stress the importance of using source segregated organic waste to obtain good quality compost. The level of detail of the strategies and the measures to achieve the targets vary considerably. Some Member States have chosen legally binding measures, while others have chosen voluntary measures and incentives. It is not possible to tell with any certainty from studying the strategies whether the reduction objectives will be met in those Member States which have not yet done so; however it seems that further effort must be made for the objectives to be achieved.

Management of spent fuel and radioactive waste

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Management of spent fuel and radioactive waste

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Management of spent fuel and radioactive waste

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Energy > Nuclear energy

Management of spent fuel and radioactive waste

Document or Iniciative

Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

Summary

This Directive aims to establish a legal framework for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

The Directive applies to:

spent fuel management which result from civilian activities;
radioactive waste management, from generation up to disposal, which result from civilian activities.

It does not relate to authorised releases or to waste from extractive industries, which is covered by Directive 2006/21/EC.

Responsibilities and obligations of Member States

Member States shall be ultimately responsible for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. In the case of shipment of the latter to a third country, the responsibility continues to lie with the State of origin.

Member States are responsible for putting in place national policies which:

keep the generation of radioactive waste to the minimum practicable;
ensure the interdependence of the different steps in spent fuel and radioactive waste generation and management;
safely manage spent fuel and radioactive waste, including in the long term;
implement appropriate measures following a graded approach;
govern all stages of the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

Member States shall be required to dispose of their waste within their own territory unless they have concluded agreements with other Member States for the use of their disposal facilities. Before shipment to a third country, the exporting Member State must ensure that:

the country of destination has concluded an agreement with Euratom concerning spent fuel and radioactive waste management and the safety of radioactive waste management or is a party to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (‘the Joint Convention’);
the country of destination has radioactive waste management programmes in compliance with this Directive;
the disposal facility in the country of destination is authorised for the radioactive waste to be shipped, and is operating prior to the shipment.

Member States shall establish a national legislative, regulatory and organisational framework including:

a national programme for implementation of the policy on spent fuel and radioactive waste management;
national provisions guaranteeing the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management;
a responsible system of licensing of spent fuel and radioactive waste management activities and facilities;
a system of institutional control;
enforcement actions;
the allocation of responsibility to the bodies involved in the different steps of spent fuel and of radioactive waste management.
national requirements for public information and participation;
financing schemes for spent fuel and radioactive waste management.

Competent regulatory authority

Member States shall establish and maintain a competent regulatory authority responsible for spent fuel and radioactive waste management. This authority shall be functionally separate from any body or organisation associated with:

the promotion or exploitation of nuclear energy or radioactive material;
the production of electricity using isotopes;
the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

Member States shall ensure that the competent regulatory authority has the legal powers and human and financial resources necessary to fulfil its obligations.

Licence holders

Licence holders shall have the prime responsibility for the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management under the regulatory control of the competent regulatory authority.

Licence holders shall be responsible for regularly assessing and verifying the safety of their facility and activity. They shall also be required to continuously improve the nuclear safety of their facility and activity of spent fuel and radioactive waste management. They shall also provide for and maintain adequate financial and human resources to fulfil these obligations.

Safety case

A safety demonstration shall be prepared as part of the licence application for a facility or activity. The safety demonstration shall cover:

the development and operation of an activity;
the development, operation and decommissioning of a facility;
the closure of a disposal facility;
the post- closure phase of a disposal facility.

The licensing process shall contribute to safety in the facility or activity during normal operating conditions, anticipated operational occurrences and design basis accidents. It shall provide the required assurance of safety in the facility or activity. The extent of the safety demonstration shall be commensurate with the complexity of the operation and the magnitude of the hazards associated with the radioactive waste and spent fuel, and the facility or activity.

Financial resources

Member States shall ensure that adequate financial resources are available when needed for the implementation of national programmes, especially for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, taking due account of the responsibility of spent fuel and radioactive waste generators.

Transparency of information

Information on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste shall be made available to workers and the general public. Member States shall also ensure that the public is able to participate effectively in the process of decision making on spent fuel and radioactive waste management.

National programmes

Member States shall establish, implement and keep updated programmes for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, covering all stages of management from generation to disposal. These national programmes shall be reviewed and updated regularly.

They must include:

the overall objectives of the national policies;
the significant milestones and clear timeframes;
an inventory of all spent fuel and radioactive waste and estimates for future quantities;
the concepts or plans and technical solutions for spent fuel and radioactive waste management from generation to disposal;
the concepts or plans for the post-closure period of a disposal facility;
research, development and demonstration activities;
responsibilities;
costs assessment;
the financing scheme(s) in force;
the transparency policy or procedure;
agreements concluded with a Member State or third country.

Member States shall notify the Commission of their national programmes for the first time by August 2015 at the latest and of subsequent significant changes. The Commission may request clarification and/or express its opinion on whether the content of the national programme is in accordance with Article 12.

At least every 10 years, Member States shall arrange for self-assessments and invite international peer review of their national framework, competent regulatory authority and/or national programme with the aim of ensuring that high safety standards are achieved in the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.

Context

In order to establish a legal framework for nuclear safety, the European Commission adopted the Directive on the safety of nuclear installations in 2009. This Directive on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste follows on from that action. This Directive meets the need to protect individuals and the environment against the dangers posed by nuclear energy and the use of radioactive material.

Reference

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Directive 2011/70/Euratom	22.8.2011	23.8.2013	OJ L 199 of 2.8.2011

The reusing, recycling and recovering of motor vehicles

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The reusing, recycling and recovering of motor vehicles

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about The reusing, recycling and recovering of motor vehicles

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Internal market > Motor vehicles > Interactions between the automobile industry and specific policies

The reusing, recycling and recovering of motor vehicles

Document or Iniciative

Directive 2005/64/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their re-usability, recyclability and recoverability and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC.

Summary

The Directive helps facilitate the recycling and recovery of component parts of end-of-life vehicles by obliging manufacturers to incorporate recycling from the vehicle design stage onwards. Manufacturers must design vehicles from the viewpoint of dismantling and recycling them, for example by using a large proportion of materials which are potentially able to be recycled and recovered.

The Directive follows on from Directive 2000/53/EC, the objective of which is to eliminate waste from end-of-life motor vehicles by promoting the re-use, recycling and recovery of their components. Every year end-of life vehicles in the European Union generate between 8 and 9 million tonnes of waste, which must be managed actively.

Category of vehicles

The provisions of this new Directive apply to cars, station wagons and people carriers (category M1 vehicles) and to light-duty trucks (category N1 vehicles), new models and models already in production in accordance with a timetable set out in the Directive.

The new Directive does not apply, however, to special purpose vehicles (armoured vehicles, ambulances, etc.), to multi-stage built light-duty vehicles (provided that the base vehicle complies with this Directive), or to vehicles produced in small series (fewer than 500 vehicles a year in each Member State).

Minimum thresholds for recycling and recovery

In accordance with Directive 2005/64/EC, vehicles may be put on the market only if they are re-usable and/or recyclable to a minimum of 85% by mass or are re-usable and/or recoverable to a minimum of 95% by mass. The minimum thresholds for the recycling and recovery of components (new and used) and materials for new vehicles were set in Article 7(4) of Directive 2000/53/EC. Checks on components and materials are based on standard ISO 22628: 2002 developed by the International Standards Organisation.

Re-use of components

The Directive bans the re-use of some component parts, which it lists, in the construction of new vehicles. The re-use of these components in another vehicle after they have been dismantled from end-of-life vehicles presents serious risks to road safety and environmental protection. The aim is therefore to ensure that re-used component parts continue to offer the same level of performance as is required to obtain type-approval.

Certificate of compliance

The manufacturer must put in place satisfactory arrangements and procedures in order to obtain the certificate of compliance detailed in Annex IV to Directive 2005/64/CE. In particular, it must ensure that materials and parts do not contain any lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium (with the exception of the cases listed in Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC). Furthermore, it must manage the re-use, the recycling and the recovery of materials and parts in accordance with this Directive.

Member States appoint a competent organisation responsible for carrying out the preliminary assessment of the manufacturer and granting the certificate of compliance. The certificate shall be valid for two years from the date of deliverance of the certificate before new checks shall be conducted. The manufacturer shall inform the competent body of any significant change that could affect the relevance of the certificate of compliance.

Timetable

The provisions of this Directive will apply from 15 December 2008 to new types of vehicles put on the market, and from 15 July 2010 for models already in production.

References

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Directive 2005/64/EC	15.12.2005	15.12.2006	OJ L 310 of 25.11.2005

The successive amendments and corrections to Directive 2005/64/EC have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Related Acts

Directive 67/548/EEC of the Council of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances [Official Journal L 196 of 16.8.1967].

End-of-life vehicles

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End-of-life vehicles

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about End-of-life vehicles

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Internal market > Motor vehicles > Interactions between the automobile industry and specific policies

End-of-life vehicles

Document or Iniciative

Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles [See amending acts].

Summary

This Directive applies to vehicles and end-of-life vehicles, including their components and materials. It specifically covers:

motor vehicles with at least four wheels for transporting passengers and with a maximum of nine seats (category M1);
motor vehicles with at least four wheels for transporting goods which weigh no more than 3.5 tonnes (category N1); and
three wheel motor vehicles.

Limit waste production

This Directive aims to decrease the quantity of waste arising from vehicles. It, therefore, encourages vehicle manufacturers and importers of vehicles into the European Union to:

limit the use of hazardous substances in their new vehicles;
design and produce vehicles which facilitate re-use and recycling;
develop the integration of recycled materials.

Since 1 July 2003, the use of mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium and lead in the components of vehicles placed on the market has been prohibited. However, these substances may be used for certain applications if the use of these substances is unavoidable (see Annex II to the Directive 2000/53/EEC).

Organise waste collection

Member States shall establish collection systems for waste arising from vehicles. Furthermore, they shall ensure end-of-life vehicles are transferred to authorised treatment facilities.

The owner or holder of the end-of-life vehicle shall receive a certificate of destruction when the vehicle is transferred to an authorised treatment facility. This certificate is issued by the facility. It enables the owner or holder to deregister the vehicle with the public authorities. The costs or part of the costs incurred in transferring a vehicle to a treatment facility shall be met by the vehicle manufacturers.

Organise waste treatment

Member States shall organise the storage and treatment of end-of-life vehicles in accordance with the requirements of the Framework Directive on Waste and those of Annex I to the Directive. Authorised treatment facilities shall strip end-of-life vehicles before treatment and recover all environmentally hazardous components.

Prioritise the re-use and recovery of waste

Priority must be given to the re-use and recovery (recycling, regeneration, etc.) of vehicle components. The aim of this Directive is to increase the rate of re-use and recovery.

The rate of re-use and recovery (in average weight per vehicle and year) should reach:

85 % no later than 1 January 2006;
95 % no later than 1 January 2015.

The rate of re-use and recycling (in average weight per vehicle per year) should reach:

80 % no later than 1 January 2006;
85 % no later than 1 January 2015.

For vehicles produced before 1980, the targets are lower.

Facilitate dismantling through information on components and materials

Member States must ensure that producers use material and component coding standards. These standards allow identification of the various materials and components. They, therefore, facilitate dismantling.

The Commission is responsible for establishing European standards. In so doing, the Commission shall take account of the work going on in relevant international forums.

Vehicle manufacturers are required to produce information on dismantling for each type of new vehicle placed on the market. This information must be produced within six months of the vehicle being placed on the market.

Evaluate progress made through implementation reports

Economic operators (producers, distributors, dismantlers, etc.) must publish information on:

the design of the vehicles and their components (capacity for recovery and recycling);
the treatment of end-of-life vehicles;
the development and improvement of methods for re-using, recycling and recovering end-of-life vehicles and their components;
the progress made in the field of recovery and recycling.

Member States shall submit a report to the Commission every three years based on this information. Each report shall be in the form of a questionnaire drawn up by the Commission. These questionnaires shall enable the Commission to observe any possible changes in the structure of motor vehicle dealing and of the collection, dismantling, shredding, recovery and recycling industries. Within the nine months following receipt of the reports from Member States, the Commission shall publish a report on the implementation of this Directive.

References

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Directive 2000/53/EC	21.10.2000	21.4.2002	OJ L 269 of 21.10.2000

Amending act(s)	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Decision 2002/525/EC	1.1.2003	–	OJ L 170 of 29.6.2002
Decision 2005/438/EC	10.6.2005	–	OJ L 152 of 15.6.2005
Decision 2005/673/EC	1.7.2005	–	OJ L 254 of 30.9.2005
Directive 2008/33/EC	21.3.2008	–	OJ L 81 of 20.3.2008
Directive 2008/112/EC	12.1.2009	–	OJ L 345 of 23.12.2008

The successive amendments corrections to Directive 2000/53/EC have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Related Acts

Report from the Commission of 20 November 2009 on the implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles for the period 2005-2008 [COM(2009) 635 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
It has come out of the twenty-five reports received by the Commission that certain provisions of the Directive have not been completely transposed or they have been done so incorrectly. A large number of Member States did not achieve their targets for re-use/recycling/recovery in 2006. For example, only nineteen Member States met the target of re-using/recycling 80 % and thirteen met the target of re-use/recovery set at 85 %.

Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles for the period 2002-2005 [COM(2007) 618 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
The Directive on end-of-life vehicles has largely been well transposed in the majority of Member States, particularly with regard to the ban on using certain harmful substances in vehicles and vehicle components and the requirement to take-back end-of-life vehicles free of charge. A large number of Member States have set lower re-use, recovery and recycling targets for vehicles produced before 1980. However, despite significant progress in terms of transposing the Directive, implementation of the legislation cannot be considered fully satisfactory. The Commission concludes that Member States must increase measures to enforce the legislation in this area.

Directive 2005/64/EC

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their reusability, recyclability and recoverability and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC (Official Journal L 310, 25.11.2005).
This Directive lays down minimum thresholds for the re-use, recycling and recovery of the component parts and materials of new vehicles with the aim of facilitating the re-use, recycling and recovery of parts with a view to fulfilling the planned 2015 objectives for recycling and recovering end-of-life vehicles. It provides for a preliminary assessment of manufacturers before Member States grant EC type-approval or national type-approval. From 15 December 2008, vehicles which do not comply with the requirements of this Directive may not be granted EC type-approval or national type-approval. From 15 July 2010, moreover, the marketing of new vehicles which do not comply with the requirements of this Directive will be prohibited.

Decision 2005/293/EC [Official Journal L 94 of 13.4.2005].
Commission Decision of 1 April 2005 laying down detailed rules on the monitoring of the re-use/recovery and re-use/recycling targets set out in Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles.

Decision 2003/138/EC [Official Journal L 53 of 28.2.2003].
Commission Decision of 27 February 2003 establishing component and material coding standards for vehicles pursuant to Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles.

Decision 2002/151/EC [Official Journal L 50 of 21.2.2002].
Commission Decision of 19 February 2002 on minimum requirements for the certificate of destruction issued in accordance with Article 5(3) of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles.

Sixth Environment Action Programme

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Sixth Environment Action Programme

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Sixth Environment Action Programme

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Agriculture > Environment

Sixth Environment Action Programme

Document or Iniciative

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community, “Environment 2010: Our future, Our choice” [COM (2001) 31 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Summary

The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community entitled “Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice” covers the period from 22 July 2002 to 21 July 2012. The programme is based on the Fifth Environment Action Programme, which covered the period 1992-2000, and on the decision regarding its review.

A strategic approach

This Communication makes it clear that meeting the challenges of today’s environmental problems means looking beyond a strictly legislative approach and taking a strategic approach. This approach requires the use of a whole range of instruments and measures to influence the decisions made by business, consumers, policy actors and citizens.

The Communication proposes five main avenues for strategic action:

improving the implementation of existing legislation;
integrating environmental concerns into other policies;
working in partnership with business;
empowering citizens and changing their behaviour;
taking account of the environment in land-use planning and management.

Specific actions are proposed for each of these avenues.

To improve the implementation of the legislation, the following specific actions are outlined:

support for the IMPEL network and its extension to the candidate countries;
reporting on the implementation of environmental law;
a “name, shame and fame” strategy on the implementation of environmental law;
the improvement of standards for environmental inspection;
initiatives to combat environmental crimes;
pursuing action in the European Court to ensure implementation.

To integrate environmental concerns into other policies, the Communication proposes:

establishing additional integration mechanisms;
implementing the Treaty provisions on integration;
the further development of indicators to monitor the integration process.

Working in partnership with business could involve:

encouraging a wider uptake of the Community’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS);
encouraging companies to publish their performance and to comply with environmental requirements;
introducing company environmental performance reward schemes;
encouraging voluntary commitments;
establishing an integrated product policy;
promoting the use and evaluating the effectiveness of the eco-label scheme;
the promotion of green procurement;
the adoption of legislation on environmental liability.

To empower citizens and change behaviour, the following actions are suggested:

helping citizens to benchmark and to improve their environmental performance;
improving the quality of information on the environment.

To take account of the environment in land-use planning and management, the following actions are proposed:

publishing a communication on the importance of integrating the environment into land-use planning and management;
improving the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;
spreading best practice and fostering the exchange of experience on sustainable development, including urban development;
including sustainable development in Community regional policy;
boosting agri-environmental measures within the Common Agricultural Policy;
developing a partnership for the sustainable management of tourism.

The Sixth Environment Action Programme focuses on four priority areas for action: climate change; biodiversity; environment and health; and sustainable management of resources and wastes.

Climate change

The Sixth Environment Action Programme recognises the fact that climate change poses the main challenge for the next ten years. The objective in this area is to reduce greenhouse gases to a level that will not cause unnatural variations of the earth’s climate.

In the short term, the European Union’s aim is to achieve the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol, i.e. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 % by 2008-2012 compared with 1990 levels. In the longer term, by 2020 it will be necessary to reduce these emissions by 20 to 40 % by means of an effective international agreement.

Community efforts to meet the challenges of climate change will be varied:

the integration of climate change objectives into various Community policies, in particular energy policy and transport policy;
the reduction of greenhouse gases by means of specific measures to improve energy efficiency, to make increased use of renewable energy sources, to promote agreements with industry and to make energy savings;
the establishment of an EU-wide emissions trading scheme;
improved research on climate change;
the improvement of the information provided to citizens on climate change;
a review of energy subsidies and their compatibility with climate change objectives;
preparing society for the impact of climate change.

Nature and biodiversity

The objective given in the Communication in this area is to protect and restore the structure and functioning of natural systems and halt the loss of biodiversity both in the European Union and on a global scale.

The actions proposed to achieve this objective are as follows:

the implementation of environmental legislation, in particular in the areas of water and air;
extension of the scope of the Seveso II Directive;
coordination of Community Member States’ actions in the case of accidents and natural disasters;
examination of the need to protect plants and animals from ionising radiation;
protection, conservation and restoration of landscapes;
protection and promotion of the sustainable development of forests;
establishment of a Community strategy for the protection of the soil;
the protection and restoration of marine habitats and the coast, and extension of the Natura 2000 network to include them;
reinforcement of controls on labelling, monitoring and traceability of GMOs;
the integration of nature conservation and biodiversity into commercial and development cooperation policies;
the creation of programmes for gathering information on nature conservation and biodiversity;
support for research in the field of nature conservation.

Environment and health

The objective described in the Communication in this field is to achieve a quality of the environment which does not give rise to significant impacts on, or risks to, human health.

The Communication proposes:

identifying the risks to human health, including that of children and the elderly, and setting standards accordingly;
introducing environment and health priorities into other policies and standards on water, air, waste and soil;
intensifying research on health and the environment;
developing a new system for the evaluation and the risk management of chemicals;
banning or limiting the use of the most hazardous pesticides and ensuring that best practice is applied;
ensuring the implementation of legislation on water;
ensuring the application of air quality standards and defining a strategy on air pollution;
adopting and implementing the Directive on Noise.

Management of natural resources and waste

The objective is to ensure that the consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources does not exceed the carrying capacity of the environment and to achieve a decoupling of resource use from economic growth through significantly improved resource efficiency and the reduction of waste. With regard to waste, the specific target is to reduce the quantity going to final disposal by 20 % by 2010 and 50 % by 2050.

The actions to be undertaken are as follows:

the development of a strategy for the sustainable management of resources by laying down priorities and reducing consumption;
the taxation of resource use;
the removal of subsidies that encourage the overuse of resources;
the integration of resource efficiency considerations into integrated product policy, eco-labelling schemes, environmental assessment schemes, etc.;
establishing a strategy for the recycling of waste;
the improvement of existing waste management schemes and investment in quantitative and qualitative prevention;
the integration of waste prevention into the integrated product policy and the Community strategy on chemicals.

Thematic strategies

The action programme envisages the adoption of seven thematic strategies covering air pollution, the marine environment, sustainable use of resources, prevention and recycling of waste, sustainable use of pesticides, soil protection and urban environment.

These strategies are based on a global approach, by theme, rather than on certain pollutants or types of economic activity, as has been the case in the past. They set long-term objectives, based on the assessment of environmental problems and on the search for a synergy between the various strategies and with the Lisbon strategy’s growth and employment objectives. They also provide an opportunity to simplify and clarify existing legislation.

The international context

The integration of environmental concerns into all aspects of the European Union’s external relations is one of the Sixth Environment Action Programme’s objectives. This objective takes account of the prospect of European Union enlargement and suggests there should be an extended dialogue with the administrations in the candidate countries on sustainable development, and the establishment of close cooperation with the NGOs and business in these countries. The application of international agreements on the environment is strongly encouraged.

A solid scientific basis

The Sixth Programme proposes a new approach to the development of environmental measures so that the parties concerned and the general public are more involved in their application. This approach includes a broad dialogue and the participation of industry, NGOs and the public authorities.

The programme will be increasingly based on scientific and economic analyses and on environmental indicators. For this purpose, the Commission will work in close cooperation with the European Environment Agency (EEA).

RELATED ACTS

Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme [Official Journal L 242, 10.9.2002].
This Decision establishes the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme. It lays down the objectives, timetables and priorities, the main avenues of the strategic approach and the four areas of action as described by the Communication on the Sixth Environmental Action Programme of the European Community, “Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice”. No more than four years after the adoption of this Decision, initiatives must be taken in each area of action.
During the fourth year of operation of the Programme and upon its completion, the Commission is to submit assessment reports to the European Parliament and the Council.

Basel Convention

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Basel Convention

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Basel Convention

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Environment > Environment: cooperation with third countries

Basel Convention

Document or Iniciative

Council Decision 93/98/EEC of 1 February 1993 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal (Basel Convention).

Council Decision 97/640/EC of 22 September 1997 on the approval, on behalf of the Community, of the amendment to the Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal (Basel Convention), as laid down in Decision III/1 of the Conference of the Parties.

Summary

The EEC approves the Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. The Convention came into force for the EEC on 7 February 1994.

The Convention (text attached as annex) aims, in introducing a system for controlling the export, import and disposal of hazardous wastes and their disposal, to reduce the volume of such exchanges so as to protect human health and the environment.

It defines hazardous wastes. Each party may add to the list other wastes listed as hazardous in its national legislation.

A transboundary movement is any movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes from an area under the national jurisdiction of one State to or through an area under the national jurisdiction of another State, or to or through an area not under the national jurisdiction of any State, provided at least two States are involved in the movement.

General obligations:

it is prohibited to export or import hazardous wastes or other wastes to or from a non-party State;
no wastes may be exported if the State of import has not given its consent in writing to the specific import;
information about proposed transboundary movements must be communicated to the States concerned, by means of a notification form, so that they may evaluate the effects of the proposed movements on human health and the environment;
transboundary movements of wastes must only be authorised where there is no danger attaching to their movement and disposal;
wastes which are to be the subject of a transboundary movement must be packaged, labelled and transported in conformity with international rules, and must be accompanied by a movement document from the point at which a movement commences to the point of disposal;
any party may impose additional requirements that are consistent with the provisions of the Convention.

The Convention establishes notification procedures regarding:

transboundary movements between parties;
transboundary movements from a party through the territory of States which are not parties.

It sets out those cases where there is a duty to re-import hazardous wastes, especially if they have been the subject of illegal trafficking.

Parties to the Convention must cooperate with each other in order to improve and achieve environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes. The aim is to implement all practical measures to ensure that wastes covered by the Convention are handled in such a way that protection of human health and the environment from their harmful effects is guaranteed.

Parties may enter into bilateral, multilateral or regional agreements or arrangements regarding transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, with parties or non-parties, provided that these do not derogate from the principles defined by the Convention.

A Conference of the Parties is established and is charged with overseeing the effective implementation of the Convention.

Provisions on the settlement of disputes between Parties.

Under Decision II/1 the Parties provided for an amendment to the Convention to immediately prohibit transboundary movements of hazardous wastes destined for final disposal and prohibit as from 01.01.1998 transboundary movements of hazardous wastes destined for recovery operations from States listed in Annex VII to the Convention, namely, “Members of the European Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Community and Liechtenstein”, to States not listed in Annex VII to the Convention. This amendment to the Convention and Annex VII have not yet entered into force for lack of sufficient ratification.

References

Act	Entry into force – Date of expiry	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Decision 93/98/EEC	1.2.1993	–	OJ L 39 of 16.2.1993
Decision 97/640/EC	22.9.1997	–	OJ L 272 of 4.10.1997

Related Acts

Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste [Official Journal L 190, 12.7.2006].
This Regulation will replace Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 from 12 July 2007. It is designed to strengthen, simplify and spell out the current control procedures for waste shipments, thus reducing the risk of shipments of uncontrolled waste. It also incorporates into Community legislation the amendments to the waste lists annexed to the Basel Convention and the revision adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2001.

Disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls

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Disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Internal market > Single Market for Goods > Chemical products

Disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs)

Document or Iniciative

Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls [See amending act(s)].

Summary

Member States must take the necessary measures to ensure that:

used PCBs * are disposed of;
PCBs and equipment containing PCBs are decontaminated or disposed of.

Inventories must be compiled of equipment with PCB volumes of more than 5 dm3, which Member States must send to the Commission by September 1999 at the latest. The equipment and PCBs contained in the inventories must be decontaminated or disposed of by 2010 at the latest.

These inventories must supply the following data:

the names and addresses of the holders;
the location and description of the equipment;
the quantity of PCBs contained in the equipment;
the date and types of treatment planned;
the date of the declaration.

Any equipment which is subject to inventory must be labelled.

Member States must prohibit:

the separation of PCBs from other substances for the purposes of reusing the PCBs;
the topping-up of transformers with PCBs.

Member States must take the necessary measures to ensure that:

PCBs, used PCBs and equipment containing PCBs which is subject to inventory are transferred to licensed undertakings, at the same time ensuring that all necessary precautions are taken to avoid the risk of fire;
any incineration of PCBs or used PCBs on ships is prohibited;
all undertakings engaged in the decontamination and/or the disposal of PCBs, used PCBs and/or equipment containing PCBs obtain permits;
transformers containing more than 0.05% by weight of PCBs are decontaminated under the conditions specified by the Directive.

The Commission:

fixes the reference methods of measurement to determine the PCB content of contaminated materials;
sets the technical standards for the other methods of disposing of PCBs;
makes available a list of the production names of capacitors, resistors and inductance coils containing PCBs;
determines, if necessary, other less hazardous substitutes for PCBs.

Within the three years following the adoption of this Directive, Member States must draw up:

plans for the decontamination and/or disposal of inventoried equipment and the PCBs contained therein;
plans for the collection and subsequent disposal of equipment not subject to inventory.

Key terms of the Act
The acronym PCB means: polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated terphenyls, Monomethyl-tetrachlorodiphenyl methane, Monomethyl-dichloro-diphenyl methane, Monomethyl-dibromo-diphenyl methane, any mixture containing any of the abovementioned substances in a total of more than 0,005 % by weight.

References

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Directive 96/59/EC	16.9.1996	16.3.1998	OJ L 243 of 24.9.1996

Amending act(s)	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Regulation (EC) No 596/2009	7.8.2009	–	OJ L 188 of 18.7.2009

The successive amendments and corrections to Directive 96/59/EC have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Related Acts

Decision 2001/68/EC of the Commission of 16 January 2001 establishing two reference methods of measurement for PCBs pursuant to Article 10(a) of Council Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCBs/PCTs) [Official Journal L 23 of 25.01 2001].