Annex II of the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) published

Annex II of the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) was published on Janury 16, 2003.

The EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) was published on July 16, 1999 and was to be transferred into national law by Jule 16, 2001. The directive aims at uniform waste classification and acceptance criteria. The Council Decision of establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfills pursuant to Article 16 and Annex II of the Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste (Landfill Directive) was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on January 16, 2003 - L11/27. The decision will enter into force on July 16, 2004. Member States shall apply the criteria set out in section 2 of the Annex to this Decision at the latest by July 16, 2005.

The Decision lays down:

- The procedures for characterising waste, checking compliance of the waste with the acceptance criteria and the on-site verification that the waste arriving at the landfill is identical to the waste described in the documents;

- Acceptance criteria and limit values for inert waste, for certain non-hazardous waste, for stable non-reactive hazardous waste accepted at landfills for non-hazardous waste, for hazardous waste and for underground storage;

- The different test methods to be used.

According to the Council Decision, basic characterisation is the first step in the acceptance procedure. Fundamental requirements for basic characterisation of the waste will be, among others, data on the composition of the waste and the leaching behaviour, where relevant.

Section 2 of the Decision sets out the criteria for the acceptance of waste at each landfill class. In certain circumstances, limit values can be exceeded, if the emissions (including leachate) from the landfill will present no additional risk to the environment according to a risk assesment. (Member States shall define criteria for compliance with the limit values). In this section limit values for landfill of non-hazardous waste for As, Ba, Cd, Crtotal, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn, Chloride, Fluoride, Sulphate, DOC (dissolved organic carbon) and TDS (toal dissolved solids) with reference to liquid/solid-ratios and test procedures are given.

Joachim Feuerborn from 2003-02-21