Bin Bugs

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European Directive




The Aim of the European Directive

The Directive's overall aim is "to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular the pollution of surface water, groundwater, soil and air, and on the global environment, including the greenhouse effect, as well as any resulting risk to human health, from the landfilling of waste, during the whole lifecycle of the landfill".



The Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC, adopted by the European Union in 1999, is beginning to change the way the UK handles waste. It requires the classification of landfill sites and the reduction of waste sent to landfill sites.

Landfill site Classification

  • Inert waste
  • Hazardous waste
  • Nonhazardous waste

Landfill Targets

Demanding targets are being set to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal landfilled.
  • By 2010 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in 1995
  • By 2013 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in 1995
  • By 2020 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995

Banned Waste

The Landfill Directive bans the landfilling of
  • Liquid waste
  • Waste which in the conditions of landfill is explosive, oxidising, corrosive, flammable or highly flammable
  • Hospital and other clinical waste
  • Used tyres from 2003 and shredded used tyres from 2006


 Bin Bugs

quick links
DEFRA - Strategy & Legislation: Legislation/Directives - EU Landfill Directive
IPPR - Institute for Public Policy Research, an independent charity, the UK’s leading independent progressive think tank.
sokymat - RFID Supplier
Holdfast Rubber Highway - A new use for old tyres.

definitions
Tag:  A tag or RFID tag is a small chip that will send a signal to a receiver. There are two types of tag; active tags which have there own power and send identification signals at regular intervals and passive tags which would need to be energised with a radio signal to be interrogated. The tag is more like a car number plate than a barcode because it uniquely identifies a specific item.
RFID or Radio Frequency Identification:  This is the technique used to identify a specific item using a signal sent from a label attached to the item.
Pay as you Throw: This is the concept of paying for rubbish disposal by weight rather than by a fixed regular fee.
Landfill Directive: The Landfill Directive was generated by the European Council on 26 April 1999 it is designated number 1999/31/EC. The directive requires Landfill sites to be classified as soon as possible but classification must be completed by July 2009. Additionally, the directive sets targets for the reduction of biodegradable municipal waste disposed of in landfill sites.

 
 
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