Compliance with strict waste law on clean air and on transboundary waste shipment must be ensured says Cembureau

Cembureau has released the following statement on waste legislation in Europe:

European associations with a stake in waste management urge the European Commission to ensure that refuse-derived fuels (RDF) and solid recovered fuels (SRF) from waste remain under the control of waste legislation.

This is an essential requirement for the application of the strict emissions and monitoring rules set in EU air policy and Best Available Techniques for waste incineration and waste co-incineration.

It is also central to the application of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation, as are the necessary controls over the destination and where waste might end up as a feedstock.

This issue is being raised in light of the increasing number of Member States that are developing their own national criteria for the End-of-Waste status of SRF and RDF, which means that strict waste legislation would thereby not apply.

Strict EU air laws must also apply to waste-derived fuels

Waste incineration and waste co-incineration must comply with emission control and abatement techniques set in the EU Industrial Emissions Directive for waste incineration and co-incineration, as well as the relevant Best Available Techniques.

“No-longer-waste SRF/RDF”, however, can be burnt in facilities that do not need to comply with the specific, strict requirements applied to installations using waste. The application of waste legislation will prevent damage to health and the environment from the burning of heterogeneous material in poorly designed boilers and unregulated facilities lacking proper flue gas treatment or in plants not complying with Best Available Techniques for waste incineration and waste co-incineration.

It is essential therefore, that SRF/RDF continues to be burnt in facilities that comply with the requirements for waste incineration and waste co-incineration, providing a high level of environmental protection as required by the Waste Framework Directive for End-of-Waste criteria (Recital 22), and ensuring that this will not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts (Article 6(1)(d) Waste Framework Directive).

EU Waste Shipment Regulation must apply to trace waste-derived fuels

The EU Waste Shipment Regulation ensures that transboundary shipments of waste are notified and controlled by the competent authorities. Industry is concerned about the impact that national initiatives, classifying SRF or RDF as End-of-Waste (therefore a “product”) can have on the traceability and control of transboundary shipments.

Dilution of the classification of SRF/RDF to “Green Listed” waste, which does not require prior notification, would also make tracking and control of this material more difficult and could potentially be exploited by unscrupulous operators.

A copy of the letter sent to the European Commission can be downloaded here.

Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/19022014/cembureau_comment_on_eu_waste_law_774/