WRITTEN QUESTION E-2490/96 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL), Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) and María Sornosa Martínez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (25 September 1996)

Subject: Waste incinerators on the island of La Palma

On the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) there are at present three incinerators in different districts of the island. The incinerators were set up with Community funding and began operating in January 1992. Since that date, various environmental groups have questioned whether the incinerators are complying with Community environmental legislation.

The Spanish Coordinating Body for Environmental Protection Organizations (CODA) has submitted to the Commission a complaint (No 4621/93), which has still not been resolved, on the repeated failure to comply with, inter alia, Council Directive 89/369/EEC ((OJ L 163, 14.6.1989, p. 32. )).

In addition, Oko - the Institute of Applied Ecology (Germany) - drew up a report on the failure to comply with Community law. Lastly, various local environmental and neighbourhood organizations have asked the local and regional public authorities to close the incinerators on the ground that they do not comply with regional, national and Community legislation.

Is the Commission aware of the failure by the incinerators in La Palma to comply with Directives 89/369/EC, 84/360/EEC ((OJ L 188, 16.7.1984, p. 20. )) and 75/442/EEC ((OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39. )) on atmospheric pollution and solid waste?

What measures does the Commission plan to take to ensure compliance with Community legislation by the incinerators, which are still operating today?

What stage has been reached in the consideration of Petition No 4621/93, which was submitted three years ago and to which no reply has so far been received from the Commission?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (25 October 1996)

The Commission's latest information on the issues raised by the Honorable Members is that four incinerators have been shut down out of the five which do not comply with Council Directive 84/360/EEC of 28 June 1984 on the combating of air pollution from industrial plants and Council Directive 89/369/EEC of 8 June 1989 on the prevention of air pollution from new municipal waste incineration plants.

These four incinerators were shut down thanks to a new incineration plant coming into service which is in compliance with European standards. In the absence of any alternative solution, just one of the five substandard incinerators is still in operation today.

As part of the commitment of the Canary Islands' authorities to providing a comprehensive and long-term solution to the problem of waste management on the Canaries, a specific management plan for the island of La Palma is being drawn up. This plan does not provide for a new incineration plant and only the recently constructed incinerator will be kept open. In addition the plan envisages setting up alternative waste management systems such as selective collection and the use of organic waste (domestic and agricultural) for compost, and provides for the construction of a new official landfill.

Once these alternative management systems are in place, it will be possible for the remaining operational incinerator which does not comply with European standards to be shut down.

The Commission will keep this case under review until the issues raised in this question are clarified definitively.