The guidance, which is very important to the future of waste management in the UK, has been developed to assist waste producers and operators in selecting a waste treatment method – and to help regulators assess compliance on the same basis. Once finalised it will apply to England, Wales and Scotland, although the Scottish Environment Protection Agency may amend the guidance its future policy on the Landfill Directive in Scotland.
Lower landfill prices
It looks at three key criteria concerning this part of the Landfill Directive and also makes some other interesting comments. It suggests landfill prices for inert waste may fall in the future as hazardous waste sites are changed into inert waste sites. And for household waste it says that consideration should be given to separation or to treatment of the whole waste stream. “Targets for recycling, in administrations where these are statutory, indicate a need for separation. Most commonly, partial separation followed by landfill, biological treatment (composting or anaerobic digestion) or thermal treatment will be appropriate.”
Under the Landfill Directive, EU member states have to take measures in order that only waste that has been subject to treatment is landfilled. This provision may not apply to inert waste for which treatment is not technically feasible, nor to any other waste for which such treatment does not contribute to the objectives of this Directive, by reducing the quantity of the waste or the hazards to human health or the environment.
The draft guidance specifically addresses issues such as: Is the material waste? Has it been treated already? What does “treatment” mean? Is the proposed waste management facility a landfill? What does article 5(4) of the Directive mean?
The Agency says that decisions about whether – and how – waste should be treated to meet the requirement of Article 6(a) should nonetheless be taken with due regard for the overall chain of decisions on the production and management of waste.
The consultation document, entitled 'Guidance on waste treatment requirements of Article 6(a) of the Landfill Directive', can be found at: treatment requirements
Three criteria
The consultation document notes the Government’s view that treatment must fulfil three criteria:
1. it must be a physical/thermal/chemical or biological process including sorting;
2. it must change the characteristics of the waste;
3. it must do so in order to:
(a) reduce its mass, or
(b) reduce its hazardous nature, or
(c) facilitate its handling, or
(d) enhance its recovery.
These three points are important to the whole treatment issues and are referred to elsewhere in the draft guidance as “the three point test”.
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