Bin Bugs

Landfill Sites and Waste Classification

Changes mean that certain wastes will be banned from landfill, landfill sites must be classified and some waste will require pre-treatment if it is intend for landfill sites.

The changes present commercial opportunities for waste management. Waste producers need to use innovative solutions to help them manage their waste in new ways.

Classification

All landfill sites must be classified as for

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

Tyres

The Landfill Directive bans the landfilling of whole used tyres from 2003 and shredded tyres from 2006. Around 450,000 tonnes of tyres are scrapped each year and the UK re-uses around 70%.

Additionally, the market for tyre granulate is growing. Tyre granulate has a number of applications including carpet underlay, sports and safety surfaces and new roadways.

Landfill Percent of Total Waste

Country	Landfill Percent
Netherlands	32
Austria	10
Germany	20
Belgium	13
Sweden	14
Denmark	5
Luxembourg	23
Spain	59
Ireland	69
Italy	62
Finland	63
France	38
UK	74
Greece	92
Portugal	75

Source: IPPR

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.