Ec Acquis Related to Waste Management
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EC ACQUIS RELATED TO WASTE MANAGEMENT Prepared for MESS by CPS July 2012 Istanbul & Brussels CONTENTS Preface List of Abbreviations PART I: INTRODUCTION PART II: EU WASTE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT POLICY 1. The Legal Base in the EU Treaty 2. The Historical Development of Waste Prevention and Management Policy at European Level 3. The Sixth Environment Action Plan and Waste Management 4. Thematic Strategy on Waste Prevention and Recycling (2005) 5. General Waste Policy Framework 6. EU Acquis on Waste Prevention and Management 6.1. Framework Legislation a. Waste Framework Directive b. Shipment of Waste c. Hazardous Waste 6.2. Waste Treatment Operations a. Incineration of Waste b. Landfill of Waste 6.3. Waste Water Discharges 6.4. Waste Streams a. Batteries and Accumulators b. Biodegradable Waste c. Construction and Demolition of Waste d. ROHs in Electrical and Electronic Equipment e. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment f. End of Life Vehicles g. Mining h. Packaging and Packaging Waste i. PCBs/PCTs j. POPs k. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) l. Radioactive Waste m. Sewage Sludge n. Ships o. Titanium Dioxide PART III: THE NEW WAVE OF ENLARGEMENT AND THE EU WASTE MANAGEMENTPOLICY 1. The Level of Adaptation to EU Waste Management Acquis 2. Transitional Arrangements by New Member States PART IV: TURKEY’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ITS ADAPTATION TO THE EU ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE ON WASTE MANAGEMENT 1. The progress of Turkey regarding harmonization with the EU Waste Management Acquis 2. The harmonisation chart of Turkish legislation regarding EC Acquis on Waste Management PART V: NEGOTIATION PROCESS 1. Negotiations Process 1.1. Evaluation by the European Union 1.2. Turkey 2011 Progress Report 1.3. Revised Accession Partnership Document 1.4. Screening and Negotiations REFERENCES PREFACE The amount of the household and industrial waste produced in total across the European Union each year equals to 3 billion tonnes, around 100 million tonnes of which is hazardous by nature. The estimates by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveals that the amount of waste generation in Europe is expected to rise 45 percent by the year 2020 in comparison with 1995 figures. Alongside with the changing consumption patterns, this steep rise in generated rubbish in Europe since the beginning of 1990s compels the uptake of further measures in waste management other than waste incineration and land filling – the methods which generates different means of environmental pollution to air, water and soil. Therefore, taking waste management as one of the four priorities of the Sixth Environment Action Plan, the EU focuses its waste management policies on measures to prevent waste at its resource. In that sense, the recent trend in EU’s waste prevention and management policy is to decouple waste generation from economic activity which proved to be successful in Germany and the Netherlands in the last decade of the 20th century. In addition to avoiding waste, the promotion of recycling, using unavoidable waste as a resource and minimization of the extraction of additional natural resources compose the main elements of EU waste management policies to ensure resource efficiency and sustainable growth. Not only the amount but also the nature of the waste followed a transformation in time with the increase in the production of hi-tech products. Complex mix of materials, such as plastics, precious metals and most importantly hazardous materials which are difficult to deal have been requiring certain treatment methods. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BAT : Best Available Techniques BREF : Best Available Techniques Reference Document CDW : Construction and Demolition Waste EAP : Environment Action Programme ECHA : European Chemicals Agency EEA : European Environment Agency EEA Agreement : European Economic Area Agreement EEE : Electrical and Electronic Equipment EESC : European Economic and Social Committee EFTA : European Free Trade Association EIONET : European Environment Information and Observation network ELV : End-of-Life Vehicle EMAS : Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme HCFC : Hidro cloroflorocarbon IED : Industrial Emissions Directive IMO : International Maritime Organization IPA : Pre-Accession Assistance IPPC : Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control LCP : Large Combustion Plant NPAA : National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis OECD : Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PCB : Polychlorinated Biphenyl PCT : Polychlorinated Terphenyl POP : Persistent Organic Pollutants PVC : Polyvinyl Chloride REACH : Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals RoHS EEE : Restricting the use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment SME : Small and Medium-sized Enterprises WEEE : Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment VOC : Volatile organic compounds PART I: INTRODUCTION On the basis of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, the waste management policy and regulatory framework at the European Union level aims to decrease the amount of waste generated through the application of waste prevention methods, better use of resources and by promoting more sustainable consumption patterns. The present Guide on European Union (EU) Acquis Communautaire related to Waste Management intends to introduce a comprehensive view on diverse aspects of the EU waste policy as well as the level of alignment of Turkish law with the EU acquis in concern. In this line, the Acquis Guide is designed to provide a detailed overview and assessment of the waste prevention and management policy of the EU, as well as to help to clarify its main parameters and underlying principles. In this respect, the first part of the Acquis Guide presents main components of the EU waste prevention and management policy. In this chapter, the legal basis of the EU waste policy in the EU Treaty, and the historical development of the waste policy at the European level are examined. In addition, it observes the general principles of EU’s current waste policy. Furthermore, in this part, an exhaustive list of EU Acquis in relation to EU’s waste policy is presented together with a brief overview of each legislative act. The overview of the secondary legislation regulating the area of waste in the EU are covered under three sub-headings shaping the EU waste policy; respectively waste framework legislation, waste treatment operations and priority waste streams. At the end of this part, the pending proposals on waste are also discussed in order to take into consideration the eventual orientation of the concerned policy areas. The analyzed EU acquis in this section aims to include all waste management issues that will or might have an influence on several sectors resulting from Turkey’s harmonization process to the EU. The second part aims to provide information on the transitional arrangements granted to new twelve member states which entered the Union during the recent enlargement waves in 2004 and 2007. With this approach, it reveals the experiences of the last comers during the accession process in terms of the technical arrangements made for the transposition of EU acquis on waste. In conclusion, the third and fourth parts concern Turkey’s EU accession process to the EU. It analyzes the harmonization level of Turkey with the EU acquis communautaire on waste management and the evaluation made by the EU and the so far progresses of Turkey are scrutinized in a detailed way. PART II: EU WASTE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT POLICY 1. The Legal Base in the EU Treaty Environmental Policy of the EU, which covers the area of waste management, rests on several Articles of consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Among them, Article 3 (Ex-Article 2 TEC) of the EU Treaty and Article 191 (Ex-Article 174 TEC) to Article 193 (Ex-Article 176 TEC) on Environment of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union are particularly important. However, the Lisbon Treaty only lays down the basic provisions. The legislative framework in the EU has been developed through secondary legislation composed of regulations, directives, decisions and other acts. In addition, environmental action has also been developed by means of several Action Programmes on environment. Article 191 (ex-Article 174 TEC) sets out the objectives of the Union’s environment policy and requests high level protection of environment taking into account diversity of situations in the Union. It also demands the environmental damage to be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay. It further lays down the rules for the cooperation of the EU as well as Member States with third countries and international organizations in the area of environment. Article 192 (ex-Article 175 TEC) empowers the European Parliament and the Council and defines the area of competences concerning EU actions in the area of environment. On the other hand, Article 193 (ex Article 176 TEC) allows Member States to introduce more stringent protective measures as long as they are compatible with the Treaties. 2. The Historical Development of Waste Prevention and Management Policy at the European Level The waste management policy is being based on a more regulated framework in the European Union (EU), with the help of action plans and secondary legislation developed over the past thirty years with a focus to alleviate the adverse effects of waste on environment and health as well as to promote an energy and resource-efficient European economy.