prop · GQ03117d3 · 2003-05-16 00:00:00 — The Government proposes that municipalities be given local responsibility for ensuring that vehicle disposal and dismantling comply with the requirements laid down in the Environmental Code. Central responsibility for supervision should be retained by the EPA, with such functions as coordination of local supervision and provision of support and advice to the municipalities. The advantage of having the municipality as the local operative supervisory authority is that it permits supervision that is more . This can protect serious vehicle-disposal operators against competition from operators who do not comply with legislation. With the system proposed, the municipality will become the authority in charge of supervising both vehicle disposal as an environmentally hazardous activity under the Environmental Code, on the one hand, and, on the other, vehicle-disposal operators compliance with the administrative requirements pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Disposal Act. Sanctions in the Motor Vehicle Disposal Act The Governments proposal: a sanction provision should be inserted into the Motor Vehicle Disposal Act (1975:343), whereby a person who engages in commercial vehicle-disposal activities without authorisation may be liable to pay fines. Under the Motor Vehicle Disposal Act, passenger cars, buses and trucks with a total weight not exceeding 3.5 must be disposed of by authorised vehicle-disposal operators only. However, it is common for vehicle-disposal operations to be conducted by unauthorised persons or businesses. These activities involve a risk of inferior material recovery and disposal of hazardous substances in vehicles. Today, unauthorised vehicle disposal is an intractable problem. By law, the only punishable offence is falsely giving oneself out as an authorised vehicle-disposal operator. Operators who neither are authorised nor pretend to be such thus cannot be stopped. Government therefore proposes an extension of the prohibition to make it punishable to engage in commercial vehicle-disposal activities without authorisation. Financing future vehicle collection and recycling The Governments assessment: in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Disposal Directive, final owners should be able to leave their end-of-life vehicles for disposal free of charge. The Government intends to investigate whether it is feasible to achieve this by ruling that payment for vehicle disposal be made direct from the to the vehicledisposal operator. This work should also include making proposals as to how the option of vehicle deregistration should be changed in such a way as to reduce dumping of end-of-life vehicles. The vehicle-disposal premium that owners receive on leaving their vehicles for disposal was raised on 1 2001. The purpose of this rise was to compensate vehicle owners for increases expected and already implemented in vehicle-disposal operators prices. As yet, there are no data showing that, owing to this premium rise, fewer vehicles are now abandoned or dumped. The premium system appears to govern the operators reception charge for vehicles, in that raised premiums also lead to higher charges. To some extent, this may be explained by the tightening of environmental controls on vehicle disposal, but it may also be that the raised premiums are taken out as higher profits by the operators. The Governments assessment is that a system in which the cost of vehicle disposal is paid direct from the to the vehicle-disposal operator is an interesting option. It could solve the difficulties entailed by the current vehicle-disposal premium, and also enable owners to leave their vehicles for disposal free of charge. The Government wishes to investigate how owners handing-in of vehicles free of charge could be organised in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, vehicle-disposal operators, consumer organisations and the public agencies concerned. Another relevant part of this work is a detailed survey of vehicle owners obligations and deregistration options. Final storage of mercury The Governments assessment: waste containing at least mercury by weight should be consigned to permanent storage deep down in the bedrock. Exemptions should be permissible only with respect to tiny quantities of waste or if other special reasons exist. If it is found compatible with the intentions of the Swedish Environmental Code, waste containing at least mercury by weight should also be stored in deep rock locations. The Government intends to insert such requirements into the provisions of the ordinance concerned. The requirements on deep rock storage should apply with effect from 1 January 2015. The Government will appoint a coordinator to coordinate implementation, taking technical, environmental, social and economic conditions into account. Reports on the implementation should be submitted to the Government every three years to ensure that work proceeds according to plan. Mercury is a highly toxic metal that is deposited in nutrient chains and is not degradable. It can cause extensive damage to health and the environment. In , restrictions on the use of mercury already exist. According to the chemicals strategy that has been drawn up for the environmental quality objective A Non-Toxic Environment (Govt. 2000/01:65), newly produced goods must, as far as possible, be free from mercury by the year 2003. Existing goods that contain mercury should be handled in such a way as to prevent its leaking into the environment. The objective is for the overall use of mercury, with some exceptions, to have ceased by the year 2010 at the latest. As a result of efforts to eliminate mercury from the natural environment, there will be an abundance of mercury waste by 2010: an estimated 15,000 of waste with a concentration of mercury exceeding . This waste must be disposed of and stored safely. Several commissions of inquiry have indicated that the method of storing mercury deep inside the bedrock is, in environmental terms, the best option for final storage despite the high investment costs involved. Unlike surface storage, deep rock storage can isolate the mercury for periods exceeding a millennium and, accordingly, avoid problems for future generations. Companies that produce mercury-containing waste should collaborate to devise a joint solution, but the Governments view is that an external party should be charged with coordinating this work. Financing and storage location are salient issues. In the Governments estimation, final storage of mercury-containing waste should be initiated by the year 2015. Reports on work to achieve this aim should be submitted every three years. is well ahead in international endeavours to eliminate mercury from the natural environment. Both in the EU and in UN, discussions on the mercury issue have started and is a driving force in bringing about policy decisions resembling those taken in . The Governments view is that a future Swedish system may be a model for other countries to follow. Improved disposal of and demolition waste The Governments assessment: development in the sectors waste management, especially with respect to hazardous waste, has been too slow to date. The Government therefore intends to instruct , and Planning, in consultation with the Swedish EPA, to develop policy instruments for supervision and guidance, and to propose additional measures and possibly new interim targets for waste management in the sector. However, the Government is in favour of the voluntary commitment made by to pursue and monitor the sectors efforts to attain the national environmental quality objectives. from and construction contains large quantities of materials that can be recovered, including wood, plastic and metal. Nevertheless, a great deal of and demolition waste is deposited at landfills every year. Apart from the importance of recycling materials, contain many different types of components that may contain organic environmental toxins, mercury and other heavy metals. These substances must be disposed of in such a way as to prevent their release into the environment. The Ecocycle of 1993 marked the inception of environmental life-cycle management in the Swedish and construction sector. was formed and presented its plan of action, with voluntary commitments and objectives for environmental work. There has been an improvement in the management of hazardous waste, and sorting of and demolition waste at source has increased. recycling of and demolition waste Today, many companies in the sector engage in advanced separation of waste into several fractions. Part of the industrys voluntary commitment was to halve landfilling of and demolition waste by the year 2000. The estimate of the quantity of and demolition waste deposited at landfills is, however, based on highly uncertain figures. This uncertainty makes it impossible to show whether the target of halved landfilling has been attained. Landfilling has also proved difficult to avoid, partly because of undeveloped markets for reuse and material recovery. The Governments assessment is that a functioning market for recycling can be created only if and construction companies themselves start to demand it. Although there has been an increase in separation and recycling of and demolition waste, it is necessary for these efforts to be developed further. The proposed clarification of the waste owners responsibility applies to the and construction sector, as to others. Here, the EPA has a key role to play in providing guidance concerning methods, property maintenance and demolition. Safe disposal of hazardous waste In recent years, knowledge of the components in that contain environmentally hazardous substances has grown. Despite inputs on the part of the industry, there are still major shortcomings in the management of hazardous waste, especially in demolition and conversion work. Substances like mercury and PCBs may constitute a substantial risk unless they are disposed of in special ways. The Governments conclusion is that application of the regulations concerning hazardous waste has been poor, given the voluntary nature of the industrys commitment. The inputs made have not been sufficient to ensure that hazardous substances are identified and disposed of in a safe . of the states shareholding in The Governments proposal: the Riksdag authorises the Government to sell its remaining shareholding in . () was formed in 1975 to be the sole enterprise in charge of final disposal of environmentally hazardous waste. The state has repeatedly reduced its stake in according to its assessment that the state should not steer development in individual companies or sectors. Since 1995, a state shareholding in this company has been retained to afford continued influence by such means as board representation. is the principal owner of , which has changed its name to . On 1 1994, the Government abolished SAKABs sole right to dispose of hazardous waste in . Several companies have established themselves on the market for disposal of hazardous waste. The Government considers that there is therefore no longer any reason why the state should continue to exert influence on the company, and proposes that the states shareholding in be sold.