Criteria (I) - General requirements for landfills

 

Landfill is the least preferred option and should be limited to the necessary minimum. Where waste must be landfilled, it needs to comply with the Directive 1993/31/EC of landfill waste. 

The objective of the Directive is to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular on surface water, groundwater, soil, air, and on human health from the landfilling of waste by introducing stringent technical requirements for waste and landfills. 

The Landfill Directive defines the different categories of waste (municipal waste, hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste and inert waste) and applies to all landfills, defined as waste disposal sites for the deposit of waste onto or into land.

Landfills are divided into three classes:

• landfills for hazardous waste;

• landfills for non-hazardous waste;

• landfills for inert waste.

A standard procedure for the acceptance of waste in a landfill is laid down so as to avoid any risks, including:

• waste must be treated before being landfilled;

• hazardous waste within the meaning of the Directive must be assigned to a hazardous waste landfill;

• landfills for non-hazardous waste must be used for municipal waste and other non-hazardous waste;

• landfill sites for inert waste must be used only for inert waste;

• criteria for the acceptance of waste at each landfill class must be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the general principles of Annex II.

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The following wastes may not be accepted in a landfill:

• liquid waste;

• flammable waste;

• explosive or oxidising waste;

• hospital and other clinical waste which is infectious;

• used tyres, with certain exceptions;

• any other type of waste which does not meet the acceptance criteria laid down in Annex II.

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