Waste legislation

The term waste is legally defined in many countries and the handling of waste regulated by law. The legal framework for the handling of waste ( waste management ) in the European Community will implement the Waste Framework Directive, which must be transposed by Member States into national law. According to the Waste Framework Directive waste is any "substance or object which the holder disposes of his or intends or is required to discard " (Article 3, for discussion see " legal situation in Germany "). Waste europe uniformly named by a usually 6-digit waste code number and a name specified, are assigned automatically by the waste specific categories. Legal basis is Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste and the EU Commission 2000/532/EC, which were implemented in Germany by the Waste Catalogue Ordinance decision. It contains an exhaustive list and description of all permitted waste codes.

Legal situation in Germany

Waste within the meaning of the German waste law are " all tangible personal property ... which the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard " (§ 3 Recycling and Waste Management Act ). Specifically, these features have the following meaning:

In their edge regions, the range of the waste definition is extremely controversial. The problem is, for example, the classification of industrial by- products and intermediates, their production, the production is not addressed, but which are nevertheless conditioned by appropriate control of the production process or the use of substances so that they can be used for an economically meaningful purpose further (example: adding additives to the feed mixture of a production process with the aim to obtain a slag which can be used in road construction ). A clearer definition of by-products was one of the objectives of the development of the new European Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, which must be implemented by 12 December, 2010 German law.

Differentiations

Waste legislation is different to a hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste to other waste for recycling of waste for disposal. Both distinctions are for waste legislation is of central importance:

  • Hazardous waste is waste with hazardous properties that are listed in the Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste and the Waste Catalogue Ordinance, such flammable, corrosive, irritant or toxic.
  • Non-hazardous waste, all other waste.

For hazardous waste, much stricter demands on the health and environmental protection and the selection of disposal facilities and documentation requirements apply.

  • Recyclable waste is waste that is actually utilized by being treated in a recovery process. Recovery can be done by raw materials from the waste recovered (example: aluminum production from scrap ), or the properties of the waste used (example: use the strength of slag in the construction of base courses in road construction ), so-called recycling. But recovery can also be done, that the waste is used for energy (example: use of waste oils or petroleum coke in place of natural gas to the furnace cement plants), so-called energy recovery. Basically created, that is, not to exploit avoided waste priority. (: Waste Law also cf ) entitled their producer or owner and obligated ( exceptions apply to private households) for recovery of waste is within the limits of the Recycling and Waste Management Act. He uses this as a rule of special recycling companies and can spend the waste largely free within the common market. The waste recycling is therefore largely organized private sector.
  • Waste for disposal is waste that is not recycled. Waste for disposal and waste from private households are basically the public waste carrier - which is usually of the municipality or county - left, which facilitates the protection of the public good for an orderly disposal. The disposal of waste is therefore (still) largely monopolized by the municipality, and, accordingly, often regionally. Certain particularly dangerous and therefore requires special supervision in the legal sense notwithstanding this waste can - depending on the province - to leave a central location for disposal of hazardous waste his (so-called obligation to offer ). Waste for disposal are subject to a stricter regulatory regime, particularly stringent documentation requirements, and may be moved only within narrow limits across state borders.

As the scope of the definition of waste in relation to the (falling lawless ) Product is within the definition of waste, the boundary between waste for recycling and for disposal in such borderline cases lively debate. In particular, it was (and is? ) Debatable whether and when combustion has to be considered as thermal ( energy ) recovery or disposal. The same applies to the filling of mines with waste. The dispute consists often among individual States of the European Union or the European Commission and individual Member States. The distinction is in practice of particular importance, since it ensures decides whether the waste is subject to the more stringent disposal regime or not, and on the other, determines whether the waste is disposed of privately or communally.

Legal situation in Austria

In the Austrian Federal Constitution (B- VG ), there was until 1988 no own competence facts concerning the " waste management ". A federal regulation was therefore not possible and it was - according to the constitutional approach of the facial points theory - a fragmented viewing. It was a so-called Annex matter. So arrangements were only in the context and in the limits of the individual rights matter take place (eg commercial law, water law, conservation law ). Overlaps or gaps were the result. With the Federal Constitution Act Amendment 1988 10, paragraph 1, point 12 of the Federal Constitution was created the constitutional basis for waste management by creating a new competence facts in articles. Now, the federal government was responsible for legislation and enforcement of hazardous waste, but in terms of non-hazardous waste only if and when a need for the issue of uniform rules ( required competency). It soon became apparent that the federal legislature from this 'need' competence soon made ​​very extensive use. For the 9 provinces remained only a relatively small control area. This relates primarily to the municipal collection of non-hazardous municipal waste and the levying of waste charges and partly also the promotion of education of the population. The most important parts in the administrative practice of waste management, however, are located in the federal law.

The use of federal jurisdiction was the first time with the Waste Management Act 1990 on hazardous waste. Here the first steps towards the non-hazardous waste arose concerning. Thus, for example, found already record-keeping system and legal standards in terms of special waste treatment plants. The extensive use was made with Federal Law Gazette I No. 102/2002.

With the Waste Management Act (AWG) in 2002 for the first time all non-hazardous waste were subjected to uniform federal rules and thus removed from the regulatory powers of the states. Some (few ) 'waste' - such as radioactive materials, explosives, waste rock, some animal materials - are excluded from the scope of the Waste Management Act 2002 (cf. § 3 Act of 2002 ). Since then, numerous amendments have been made and adopted new regulations (eg Waste Treatment Obligations Ordinance, WEEE Ordinance, Waste Catalogue, Waste Ordinance ). The regulations adopted for the Waste Management Act 1990 shall apply for the most part still under the Waste Management Act 2002, although adjustment needed ( eg ELV regulation, landfill regulation). The end of 2012 a further amendment of the AWG was started.

Situation in Switzerland

In Switzerland, reuse and recycling of waste at a fairly high standard. Incentives to do so are V.A. also fees on the waste - disposal. Early disposal fees on sales prices of products cater mainly for the pre-funding of recycling. Landfills for household waste is prohibited for some years, the waste must be disposed of in an environmentally friendly waste incineration plants. These questions are primarily regulated by the Federal Law on Environmental Protection ( EPA) of 1983 and the corresponding execution decrees.

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