Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the national strategies for the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills pursuant to article 5(1) of directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste {SEC(2005) 404}
Date: 2005-03-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: environmental protection, report, storage of waste, waste management

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.03.2005 
COM(2005) 105 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

ON THE NATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR THE REDUCTION OF 
BIODEGRADABLE WASTE GOING TO LANDFILLS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 
5(1) OF DIRECTIVE 1999/31/EC ON THE LANDFILL OF WASTE 

{SEC(2005) 404} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report intends to inform other Community Institutions, Member States and the interested 
public  pursuant  to  Article  5(1)  of  Directive  1999/31/EC  on  the  landfill  of  waste  on  the 
national strategies drawn up by Member States to reduce the amounts of biodegradable waste 
going to landfills. 

The objective of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste1 is to prevent or reduce as far 
as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular the pollution of surface water, 
groundwater, soil and air, and on the global environment, including the greenhouse effect, as 
well as any resulting risk to human health, from landfilling of waste, during the whole life-
cycle of the landfill. 

Pursuant to Article 5(1) of the Directive Member States must set up a national strategy for the 
implementation  of  the  reduction  of  biodegradable  waste  going  to  landfills  not  later  than  16 
July 2003 and notify the Commission of this strategy. The strategies should include measures 
to achieve the targets set out in Article 5(2) by means of in particular recycling, composting, 
biogas production or materials/energy recovery. 

Article 5(2) requires the reduction of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills to 

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75% by 16 July 2006 

50% by 16 July 2009 and 

35% by 16 July 2016 

calculated on the basis of the total amount of biodegradable municipal produced in 1995 or 
the latest year before 1995 for which standardised Eurostat data is available. 

Member States that landfilled more than 80 % of their municipal waste in 1995 may postpone 
each of the targets by a maximum of four years. 

By January 2004 the Commission had received the national strategies from Austria, Denmark, 
France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden as well as 
regional plans for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the Flemish Region 
and  the  Walloon  Region.  Ireland  and  Spain  have  not  submitted  their  strategies.  Finland’s 
strategy was submitted too late to be included in this report. In addition, the ten new Member 
States had to submit their national strategies after accession. The Commission will continue to 
liaise  with  these  Member  States  in  order  to  obtain  information  covering  the  whole 
Community. 

This  report  draws  together  the  strategies  submitted.  As  no  format  was  provided  for  the 
strategies,  the  structure  and  detail  of  the  strategies  submitted  vary  significantly.  This  report 
consists of a description of the current status in Member States and their national strategies as 
well as general conclusions. This report is accompanied by a Commission staff working paper 
which contains a more detailed summary of the strategies and the data received from Member 
States. 

1 

OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1. 

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2. 

OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL STRATEGIES 

Austria  has  already  reached  the  last  reduction  target  of  Article  5.  Austria  has  a  legal 
obligation  to  collect  biodegradable  waste  separately,  which  is  then  composted.  Packaging 
waste  must  also  be  separately  collected  and  reused  or  recovered.  In  larger  construction 
projects the biodegradable waste must be separated. Landfills  may only accept  waste  which 
has  been  pretreated  by  incineration  in  order  to  attain  a  TOC  of  less  than  5%  or  that  has 
undergone biological mechanical treatment. 

Belgium  submitted  regional  strategies  for  the  Walloon  Region  and  the  Flemish  Region.  No 
strategy was submitted for the Brussels Region. 

The Flemish Region already exceeds the last reduction target set by Article 5. The Flemish 
Waste  Management  Plan  provides  for  further reductions  by  banning  the  landfilling  of  some 
wastes, such as unsorted household waste, waste collected for recovery and the combustible 
fraction (with a TOC of more than 6%). 

The  Walloon  Region  plans  to  reach  the  targets  by  setting  targets  for  the  reduction  of  the 
generation of municipal waste, for the overall recovery of waste and for recycling. Separate 
collection  of  organic  waste  is  foreseen  on  a  voluntary  basis.  New  installations  for 
biomethanation, composting and energy recovery should be created. 

Denmark has already reached the last reduction target by banning the landfilling of all waste 
suitable for incineration. 

France already largely respects the targets for 2006 and 2009. Since 2002 only ‘final waste’, 
that means waste that can not be treated anymore under the present technical and economic 
conditions may be accepted in landfills. Paper recycling will increase due to the new targets 
for  recovery  of  packaging  waste.  The  development  of  separate  collection  of  biodegradable 
waste  is  included  in  many  regional  waste  management  plans.  Several  regional  waste 
management plans provide new incineration plants. 

Germany will fulfil the last reduction target in 2005, not only for municipal waste but for all 
biodegradable  waste.  German  law  provides  a  general  separate  collection  obligation. 
Biodegradable municipal waste is separately collected and composted. Waste wood may not 
be landfilled. Packaging waste is collected and recovered to a high extent, the recovery quota 
nearing  its  limit.  By  1  June  2005  landfills  may  only  accept  municipal  waste  that  has  been 
incinerated  (TOC  of  3%)  or  that  has  undergone  mechanical  biological  treatment  (TOC  of 
18%). 

Italy already fulfils the target for 2006. Through economic measures, including an ecotax, the 
price of landfilling will increase, which will lead to a reduction of landfilling. An increase in 
separate  collection  of  organic  waste  is  foreseen  in  particular  in  the  southern  regions.  New 
incineration installations will be constructed. There are landfill bans for high and medium risk 
animal by-products and organic healthcare waste. 

Greece will postpone the attainment of the targets by four years. Greece has set up a system 
for the separate collection and recovery of packaging waste. Biomechanical treatment plants 
and/or  energy  recovery  plants  will  be  constructed  where  economically  and  technically 
feasible.  The  regional  plans  will  have  to  be  updated  and  include  the  measures  to  reach  the 

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reduction targets set in the national plan. Operators of new and existing landfills must select a 
solution for the pre-treatment of the waste. 

Luxembourg has set up different systems for the separate collection of kitchen waste, green 
waste and paper and wood. The two landfills for municipal waste are equipped with a separate 
collection station and have installations for the pre-treatment of the waste (shredding, sorting, 
homogenisation, organic stabilisation). 

The  Netherlands  already  fulfil  the  last  reduction  target.  Most  of  the  municipal  waste  is 
incinerated.  Home  composting  is  encouraged.  Targets  are  set  for  the  separate  collection  of 
organic  waste.  The  landfilling  of  separately  collected  biodegradable  waste  is  banned. 
Incineration  of  waste  outside  of  installations  is  prohibited.  For  the  treatment  of  separately 
collected biodegradable waste composting and fermentation are the preferred options. 

Portugal  has  set  targets  for  the  increase  of  separate  collection  of  food  and  garden  waste 
initially only from the main source such as restaurants, canteens, supermarkets and at a later 
stage  also  from  private  households.  In  future  only  separately  collected  biodegradable  waste 
will be composted. Back yard composting will be promoted. The construction of several new 
biological  treatment  plants  is  foreseen.  A  third  incineration  plant  will  be  built  and  the 
expansion of existing incinerators is under consideration. Objectives for the recycling of paper 
packaging have been set. The increase of landfill fees and the introduction of phased landfill 
restrictions are under consideration. 

Sweden has banned the landfilling of combustible waste and organic waste. Exemptions can 
be  granted  if  there  is  a  lack  of  capacity.  The  amount  of  waste  for  which  an  exemption  is 
granted is decreasing. Most of the waste is incinerated. Biological treatment is growing. 

The United Kingdom makes use of the possibility of the Landfill Directive to postpone the 
attainment  of  the  targets  by  four  years.  In  order  to  attain  the  targets  the  waste  disposal 
authorities will be allocated allowances for the landfilling of biodegradable waste. Recovery 
and  recycling  targets  are  set  for  packaging  waste.  These  allowances  are  tradable.  Regional 
strategies have been developed for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. 

3. 

CONCLUSION 

3.1. 

The strategies 

Only twelve Member States have submitted their national strategies pursuant to Article 5(1) 
of the Landfill Directive. Two of the twelve Member States have submitted these strategies on 
a  regional  basis.  For  the  United  Kingdom  all  the  regional  strategies  were  submitted.  For 
Belgium no strategy was submitted for the region of Brussels. 

The  promotion  of  composting,  recycling  of  paper  and  energy  recovery  are  elements  of  all 
strategies. Most strategies stress the importance of using source segregated organic waste to 
obtain good quality compost. The level of detail of the strategies and the measures to achieve 
the  targets  vary  considerably.  Some  Member  States  have  chosen  legally  binding  measures, 
while others have chosen voluntary measures and incentives. 

Greece and the United Kingdom will postpone the reduction targets by four years. 

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Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the Flemish Region already fulfil the targets 
set by the Directive or have already taken the necessary measures to fulfil them. In the case of 
Germany the question of sufficient treatment capacity does not seem to be completely solved 
yet.  

For  Sweden  no  data  is  submitted,  but  the  targets  could  be  fulfilled  in  the  next  years,  if  the 
landfill bans are strictly enforced. 

The strategy of the Walloon Region sets general waste reduction and recovery objectives, but 
no information is provided on measures to ensure achievement of the targets. 

France,  Greece  and  Italy  have  not  provided  information  on  the  concrete  measures  taken  to 
achieve the targets in their strategies. It is therefore difficult to say whether the strategies will 
bring about the necessary changes. 

The  data  submitted  by  Luxembourg  does  not  seem  sufficient  to  enable  an  assessment  of 
whether  the  targets  are  already  achieved.  The  measures  described  in  the  strategy  seem 
adequate to ensure the achievement of the targets. 

The strategy of Portugal contains some information on planning of treatment installations and 
objectives  for  recycling  and  composting,  but  does  not  give  information  on  the  concrete 
measures taken to achieve these objectives. 

The  United  Kingdom’s  system  of  tradable  allowances  coupled  with  measures  to  increase 
demand for recycled products could lead to good results, but there is a lack of information on 
planning  of  installations,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  see  whether  the  objectives  can  be 
achieved in practice. 

3.2. 

Outlook 

The  Landfill  Directive  sets  landfill  reduction  targets  to  be  achieved  by  certain  dates  and 
leaves the choice of the instruments to the Member States. 

The Commission is monitoring the implementation of the Landfill Directive and the progress 
of Member States towards achieving the reduction targets set by the directive. 

In their three-yearly reports about the implementation of the Landfill Directive Member States 
have to report on the amounts of biodegradable waste going to landfills for each year of the 
reporting  period.  These  reports  will  show  whether  the  strategies  are  successful  and  the 
objectives achieved. The first reports covering the years 2001 to 2003 were due in September 
2004. The Commission should then present its report in June 2005. However, most Member 
States are late with the submission of their reports. Conclusions on whether the target of 2006 
is achieved will be drawn in the second report covering the years 2004 to 2006. 

Having  analysed  the  strategies  it  is  unclear  whether  the  landfill  reduction  targets  will  be 
achieved for those Member States where this is not already the case. It looks like additional 
efforts will be necessary to achieve the targets. The Commission will pay particular attention 
to  the  attainment  of  the  target  of  2006  and  take  all  appropriate  measures  to  ensure  good 
implementation of the directive. 

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