WRITTEN QUESTION E-1946/02

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(3 July 2002)

Subject: Management of hazardous industrial waste

The Ano Liossia public corporation has approved a project under the LIFE programme (reference LIFE 99 ENV/GR/000550) for the disposal of hazardous industrial waste at the landfill site operated by the Association of Local Authorities in the Prefecture of Attica, ESDKNA.

Law No 2742/99 stipulates that the ESDKNA landfill site is for urban refuse only and not industrial waste. Will the Commission therefore say to what extent the site (funded by the LIFE programme) is consistent with the provisions of the following directives:

1. Directive 91/689/EEC(1) on hazardous waste,

2. Directive 78/319/EEC(2) on toxic and dangerous waste,

3. Directive 75/442/EEC(3) on waste,

4. Directive 94/67/EC(4) on the incineration of hazardous waste.

(1) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 20.

(2) OJ L 84, 31.3.1978, p. 43.

(3) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39.

(4) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 34.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 August 2002)

The Commission has indeed adopted a project under the LIFE programme for the enhanced management of industrial waste at the Ano Liossia landfill in Athens (99 ENV/GR/000550). The aim of the project is to stop the landfilling of hazardous waste, such as waste oils and oils sludges in the Ano Liossa landfill. In order to do so, these types of waste are subject to a pretreatment, which includes the separation of soil and oil waste, and dewatering of oily sludges. The project does not focus on the subsequent disposal or recovery of the separated and treated waste fractions, although it is mentioned that waste oils could be sent to be recovered as fuels and the other waste fractions could be subject to further treatment. Thus the aim of the project, as presented to the Commission was to put at end the disposal of hazardous wastes in a landfill and to pretreat these wastes to facilitate their subsequent recovery or safe disposal elsewhere.

On the basis of the information provided by the responsible of the project, the Commission is of the opinion that this project is not in conflict with the Directives mentioned by the Honourable Member:

1. Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste, there is no evidence of a breach of the Articles of this Directive as the pretreatment of hazardous waste to facilitate its recovery and safe disposal is completely in line with the requirements there in;

2. Council Directive 78/319/EEC of 20 March 1978 on toxic and dangerous waste has been repealed by Directive 91/689/EEC;

3. Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as last amended by Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991(1), and in particular its Article 4, establishes the basic requirements which aim at ensuring that the recovery and disposal of waste is done without causing any avoidable damage to the environment. It establishes other obligations, inter alia record keeping obligations, permit requirements, etc. The Commission does not have any evidence that the pretreatment of these hazardous waste is done in such a way as to be violating the requirements of the Framework Directive on waste 75/442/EEC;

4. Council Directive 94/67/EC od 16 December 1994, relates to the incineration of hazardous waste and would not seem applicable to this project, since according to the description provided to the Commission, incineration is not foreseen.

(1) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.