European waste legislation

The second possibility is the European waste legislation, which includes the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS). The RoHS Directive is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) which sets collection, recycling, and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of toxic e-waste. 

What will be the outcome of the RISKCYCLE project and how is the influence on research policy and legislation Different ways for implementation are conceivable the Ecodesign Directive and European Waste Legislation (RoHS, WEEE and REACH). 

ECHA points out that some materials currently considered as waste might in future be considered to have ceased to be waste [15]. These materials will then be out of the scope of waste legislation, and - if not covered by an exemption - will potentially fall under REACH. Clarification of end-of-waste criteria is a matter for waste legislation. In accordance with the general principle of subsidiarity of the European Union law, and following the revised Waste Framework Directive, Member States may decide case by case whether certain waste has ceased to be waste, where end-of-waste criteria have not been set at Community level. Member States have already worked for use of this regulation, like, e.g., the Waste Quality Protocol in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland [16]. 

The German Environmental Ministry is reported to have attacked European proposals to ban substances such as specific flame retardants in forthcoming regulations for recycling electrical and electronic equipment. Initial proposals from the EU Commission on the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment, include a phaseout of PBDEs, despite preliminary findings under EU risk assessment that there is no need for risk reduction from the two types, decaBDE and octaBDE mainly used in such equipment. The Ministry is said to be concerned at the excessively prescriptive and restrictive system being proposed, and that substance restrictions should not be addressed in waste legislation, but should be based on life cycle risk assessments. 

EC (2000a). Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Community Waste Legislation Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils and Directive 86/278/ EEC on sewage sludge for the period 1995-1997. European Commission, Bruxelles. 

Smith, P. G. and J. S. Scott. 2005. Dictionary of Water and Waste Management, 2nd ed. Oxford, U.K./Boston Butterworth-Heinemann London IWA Publications. Reference to U.S., U.K., and European standards, legislation, and spelling ensures that the reader will... 

European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. http J/ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/legislation/a.htm... 

The Landfill Tax was introduced in the UK in 1996 to try to reduce the amoimt of waste being sent to landfill. All waste placed in a landfill is subject to the tax unless specifically exempt. For example soil being removed from redevelopment sites because it is contaminated is exempt. The Special Waste Regulations 1996 updated the definition of special waste (hazardous waste) to conform to European Union legislation. 

Confusion as to what constitutes municipal waste is presenting an obstacle to the use of packaging waste as a fuel in cement kilns. Whilst cement kilns can bum hazardous waste, they cannot bum a wide range of non-hazardous materials, it is reported. The case of Castle Cement is described which planned to bum a range of non-hazardous commercial and industrial wastes. Some waste-fired combustion processes, however, such as UK Waste s Fibre Fuel operation have been granted derogations where fuel is manufactured by advanced mechanical processes, which includes the production of fuel pellets. This latter process would be pointless for the cement industry since their fuels have to be pulverised. The problems are further discussed with reference to current European legislation. 

Readers interested in reviewing information on the implementation of legislation on hazardous waste combustion in the European Union member states are referred to the Europa website.34... 

Europa, Incineration of Hazardous Waste, Activities of the European Union, Summaries of Legislation, 2009. Available at http //europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/121200.htm. 

And third, REACH (regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the European new chemicals legislation, has interrelation to the waste sector and therefore to the project. 

It is briefly reported that the European Commission will issue a White Paper on PVC within the next couple of months. The Paper will probably be a mix of both legislation and voluntary commitments. A Green Paper on PVC was adopted by the EC in July 2000. This raised six issues to be addressed substitution, production process, cadmium stabilisers, lead stabilisers, phthalates and waste management. 

It is briefly reported that the European Parliament s environment committee has voted to adopt a draft resolution onPVC legislation, scheduled to become law in June. The amendment aims to enshrine in European law the separation of PVC from other waste, the compulsory marking of PVC products and the differentiation between soft and rigid PVC. Opposition to these measures will be the focus of the industry s lobbying, according to the BPF. 

The move by the European Commission to make three separate pieces of legislation out of an original single draft directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment has probably served to intensify the focus onbrominated flame retardants in these applications. Under the draft, EU countries shall ensure that the use of lead, mercury,... 

Recently the protection of the environment has become increasingly important for industry with the requirement that the potential impact on the environment is considered for all aspects of industrial processes. Such considerations are supported by environmental legislation that controls all types of emissions as well as the treatment of wastes. Such legislation is based on global standards that have largely resulted from developments within the European Union, Japan, and the United States in collaboration with international conventions. Of these, the Basel Convention (1989) and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992) were significant in the control and prevention of wastes. In the case of liquid wastes that are most appropriate for treatment by liquid liquid extraction, limits for discharge into the aqueous environment have been established by the three countries already mentioned. These limits depend on the particular country and sometimes on the industry. (See section 14.6.)... 

A harmonized pan-European notification system, i.e., covering the entire EU, was introduced for new substances as part of the 6th Amendment to the 67-Directive (EEC 1967), which was adopted in September 1979 (Directive 79/831/EEC - EEC 1979) and came into force in all Member States on 18 September 1981. Over 6800 notifications in total, representing more than 4300 substances, have been submitted since 1981. Inherent of legislation are principles for notification, including criteria for exemption. Exemption categories include consumer products pertaining to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and foodstuffs. The Directive is not applicable to pesticides, radioactive materials, wastes, and substances used in scientific research (ECB 2006). 

Water samples (drinking water, rain, sea, river or waste water and others) have been characterized by ICP-MS with multi-element capability in respect to metal impurities (such as Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Na, Sb, Se, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Tl, Th, U, V and Zn) in many laboratories in routine mode with detection limits at the low ng I 1 range using ICP-QMS, and below by means of ICP-SFMS. Drinking water samples are controlled in respect of the European legislation (Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption). For quality control of analytical data, certified standard reference materials e.g. drinking water standard (40CFR 141.51), river water reference material SLRS-4 or CASS-2 certified reference sea-water material and others are employed. 

In European legislation the comprehensive legal definitions that are available for the classification of waste do not exist for the characterisation of soils, therefore focus is given to German legislation in the following section. 

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