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            DIRECTIVE 2006/12/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL         

of 5 April 2006         

on waste

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

1.   For the purposes of this Directive:

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (a), the Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18(3), shall draw up a list of waste belonging to the categories listed in Annex I. This list shall be periodically reviewed and, if necessary, revised in accordance with the same procedure.

Article 2

1.   The following shall be excluded from the scope of this Directive:

2.   Specific rules for particular instances, or supplementing those of this Directive, on the management of particular categories of waste, may be laid down by means of individual Directives.

Article 3

1.   Member States shall take appropriate measures to encourage:

2.   Except where Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (6) applies, Member States shall inform the Commission of any measures they intend to take to achieve the aims set out in paragraph 1. The Commission shall inform the other Member States and the Committee referred to in Article 18(1) of such measures.

Article 4

1.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment, and in particular:

2.   Member States shall take the necessary measures to prohibit the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste.

Article 5

1.   Member States shall take appropriate measures, in cooperation with other Member States where this is necessary or advisable, to establish an integrated and adequate network of disposal installations, taking account of the best available technology not involving excessive costs. The network must enable the Community as a whole to become self‐sufficient in waste disposal and the Member States to move towards that aim individually, taking into account geographical circumstances or the need for specialised installations for certain types of waste.

2.   The network referred to in paragraph 1 must enable waste to be disposed of in one of the nearest appropriate installations, by means of the most appropriate methods and technologies in order to ensure a high level of protection for the environment and public health.

Article 6

Member States shall establish or designate the competent authority or authorities to be responsible for implementing this Directive.

Article 7

1.   In order to attain the objectives referred to in Articles 3, 4 and 5, the competent authority or authorities referred to in Article 6 shall be required to draw up as soon as possible one or more waste management plans. Such plans shall relate in particular to:

2.   The plans referred to in paragraph 1 may, for example, cover:

3.   Member States shall cooperate as appropriate with the other Member States and the Commission to draw up such plans. They shall notify Commission of them.

4.   Member States may take the measures necessary to prevent movements of waste which do not comply with their waste management plans. They shall inform the Commission and the Member States of any such measures.

Article 8

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any holder of waste:

Article 9

1.   For the purposes of implementing Articles 4, 5 and 7, any establishment or undertaking which carries out the operations specified in Annex II A shall obtain a permit from the competent authority referred to in Article 6.

Such permit shall cover:

2.   Permits may be granted for a specified period, they may be renewable, they may be subject to conditions and obligations, or, notably, if the intended method of disposal is unacceptable from the point of view of environmental protection, they may be refused.

Article 10

For the purposes of applying Article 4, any establishment or undertaking which carries out the operations referred to in Annex II B shall obtain a permit.

Article 11

1.   Without prejudice to Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (7), the following may be exempted from the permit requirement laid down in Article 9 or Article 10:

2.   The exemption referred to in paragraph 1 may apply only:

3.   The establishments or undertakings referred to in paragraph 1 shall be registered with the competent authorities.

4.   Member States shall inform the Commission of the general rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 2, point (a).

Article 12

Establishments or undertakings which collect or transport waste on a professional basis or which arrange for the disposal or recovery of waste on behalf of others (dealers or brokers) shall, where they are not subject to authorisation, be registered with the competent authorities.

Article 13

Establishments or undertakings which carry out the operations referred to in Articles 9 to 12 shall be subject to appropriate periodic inspections by the competent authorities.

Article 14

1.   All establishments or undertakings referred to in Articles 9 and 10 shall:

2.   Member States may also require producers to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1.

Article 15

In accordance with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, the cost of disposing of waste must be borne by:

Article 16

At intervals of three years Member States shall send information to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive, in the form of a sectoral report which shall also cover other pertinent Community Directives. The report shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18(2). The questionnaire or outline shall be sent to the Member States six months before the start of the period covered by the report. The report shall be made to the Commission within nine months of the end of the three‐year period covered by it.

The Commission shall publish a Community report on the implementation of the Directive within nine months of receiving the reports from the Member States.

Article 17

The amendments necessary for adapting the Annexes to scientific and technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18(3).

Article 18

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.

3.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

4.   The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 19

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 20

Directive 75/442/EEC is hereby repealed, without prejudice to Member States' obligations relating to the time‐limits for transposition into national law set out in Annex III, Part B.

References made to the repealed Directive shall be construed as being made to this Directive and should be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex IV.

Article 21

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 22

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 5 April 2006.

For the European Parliament

The President

J. BORRELL FONTELLES            

For the Council

The President

H. WINKLER            

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(1)OJ C 112, 30.4.2004, p. 46.

(2)  Opinion of the European Parliament of 9 March 2004 (OJ C 102 E, 28.4.2004, p. 106) and Council Decision of 30 January 2006.

(3)OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(4)  See Part A of Annex III.

(5)OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(6)OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession.

(7)OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 20. Directive as amended by Directive 94/31/EC (OJ L 168, 2.7.1994, p. 28).

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ANNEX I

CATEGORIES OF WASTE

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ANNEX II A

DISPOSAL OPERATIONS

NB: This Annex is intended to list disposal operations such as they occur in practice. In accordance with Article 4, waste must be disposed of without endangering human health and without the use of processes or methods likely to harm the environment.

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ANNEX II B

RECOVERY OPERATIONS

NB: This Annex is intended to list recovery operations as they occur in practice. In accordance with Article 4, waste must be recovered without endangering human health and without the use of processes or methods likely to harm the environment.

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ANNEX III

PART A

REPEALED DIRECTIVE WITH ITS SUCCESSIVE AMENDMENTS

(referred to in Article 20)

PART B

LIST OF TIME-LIMITS FOR TRANSPOSITION INTO NATIONAL LAW

(referred to in Article 20)

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ANNEX IV

CORRELATION TABLE

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