WRITTEN QUESTION P-2285/99

by Mikko Pesälä (ELDR) to the Council

(29 November 1999)

Subject: Use of material classified as waste in Finland

The Commission's proposed directive on the incineration of waste will give rise to serious problems in Finland. The proposed directive is drawn up with countries in mind in which waste management is based on mass incineration units. However, in complying with the directive Finland would be forced into a situation which would be in conflict with environmental efficiency.

According to industry's own estimates there are at least 200 heating and power generation plants and industrial furnaces in Finland in which it is possible to safely co-incinerate harmless materials classified as waste. In addition to wood these include paper which is unsuitable for recycling for one reason or another, cardboard, textiles and harmless sludge from industrial processes. In our industries the materials classified as waste which are suitable for incineration are sorted at the place of origin in just the same way, mutatis mutandis, as in the household and commercial sectors. In this way it is ensured that no more harmful emissions arise from incineration than from ordinary fuels. The incineration plants are also efficiently supervised.

The application of such limit values to plants which incinerate harmless materials classified as waste as an additional fuel is very problematic, if only because the continuous measurement of emissions is expensive and calls for high investments in measuring equipment. In Finland the long transport distances favour the use of small plants. Costs could well rise to such an extent that the use of waste as an additional fuel will cease to be profitable.

Co-incineration can reduce the quantity of waste needing to be transported to landfill sites. The use of the energy content of materials sorted at source which are classified as waste, but which emit harmless combustion gases when burnt, contributes greatly to sustainable development.

1. What is the Council doing to ensure that the drafting of the directive takes into account the efficient sorting of waste at source in Finland and the use of energy this makes possible?

2. Is it possible that the authorities supervising incineration could be given wider powers to be flexible in individual cases, where this is justified in the light of the type of waste and the technical level of the installation?

Reply

(31 January 2000)

As the Member of Parliament may know, the Commission proposal on incineration of waste was very carefully examined by the Council, taking into consideration the different situations in the Member States. The Council reached a political agreement during its meeting in June 1999. The Council has formally adopted its common position on 25 November 1999, and the transmission to the European Parliament has been done on the occasion of its plenary on 1-2 December 1999.

As the Member of Parliament may note from the common position, the Council has taken due account of his concerns in that incineration or co-incineration of harmless material such as vegetable waste from agriculture and forestry or wood waste is excluded from the scope of the Directive. Moreover, it is stipulated that the heat generated during the incineration or co-incineration process should be recovered as far as practicable.

As far as measurements are concerned, periodical instead of continuous measurements may be allowed by the supervising authorities subject to certain conditions for hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and sulphur dioxide (SO2); moreover, the frequency of measurements for heavy metals, dioxins and furans have, provided some very strict conditions are fulfilled, also been reduced.