Number: 2021/04, 2020/03, 2019/05, 2018/05, 2017/06, 2016/08, 2015/08, 2014/04,2013/06, 2011-2012/03
Status: Ongoing
Period: 2011

Terms of Reference

• Waste Management and Circular Economy (2021)
• Waste Management and Circular Economy (2020)
• Waste Management and Circular Economy (2019)
• Landfilling and Circular Economy (2018)
• 2016
• 2015
• 2017
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011

Project report(s)

• Waste Management and Circular Economy project (2020)
• Report Rome Conference Making the Circular Economy Work (2019)
• Guidance Making the Circular Economy Work (2019)
• Waste Management and Circular Economy (report Treviso meeting) – including annexes (2108)
• Waste management and Circular Economy (report Cyprus meeting) – including annexes (2018)
• Waste management and Circular Economy (report Brussels meeting) (2018)
• Landfill project – Riga (Latvia) (2017)
• Landfill project – Bratislava (Slovakia) (2017)
• Landfill project – Brussels (Belgium) (2017)
• Landfill Directive Implementation Gaps Analysis (2016)
• Landfill Inspection Project Malta meeting (2016)
• Landfill Inspection Project Report Zaandam meeting (2016)
• Inventory Analisys (2016 protected)
• Report  Landfill project (2014 – compressed)
• Report Landfill project (2013)
• Report landfill project (2011-2012)

Project description and aims

This project builds on the results and products from the previous landfill projects and is moving through the waste hierarchy steps, in order to promote Eco-innovation and Circular Economy and create a level playing field and common understanding of the key points of the Waste Framework Directive in permitting and inspection processes.

This will be achieved by inspectors and permit writer coming together to learn from each other, identifying good practices, developing guidance to promote those practices and disseminating technical know how through training and professional development initiatives. Supporting regulatory authorities in this way should result in stronger compliance assurance and a more level regulatory playing-field.

The Guidance “‘Making the Circular Economy work’, launched in Rome in March 2019, is a living document that will be further revised with the results of the subgroups running in 2021-2024.

Specific outcomes of the project along 2021 will be:

• A better understanding of Value-Retention Processes (namely remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair and direct reuse) as complementary to recycling at the step of prevention of waste hierarchy (primary objective) to enable faster achievement of circular economy.
• Guidances to help regulatory practitioners in applying by-product criteria.
• Identifying the instruments within the IED that can contribute to the overall objective of achieving a circular economy in Europe and sharing good practices on how they are implemented.
• Setting up a practical tool to help operators and the competent authorities to check the more appropriate way to evaluate the compliance of EoW/by-products with REACH Regulation.
• Developing an End of waste database (case by case and national criteria set up by MS) to share information on technical and environmental criteria of secondary raw material
• Kick off of a “Waste incineration subgroup” to define a working programme in 2022 related to practical solutions for the implementation of BAT Conclusions in waste incineration to help to achieve a more homogeneous level playing field across Europe.
• Specific training session on REACH&Circular economy or on End-of-waste and by-products

Lead country and contact

• Italy
  Romano Ruggeri

Related files/information

• Access the full agenda and presentations of the online workshop “End-of-waste and By-products: compliance with REACH” held on 25-11-2021
• 2018 Project abstracts in: English, Croatian, German, Castellano, Estonian, Greek, Dutch, Slovenian, Portuguese and Italian.
• 2017 Project abstract in: English, Spanish, Dutch, Croatian, Portuguese, Latvian, Slovak, Turkish
• European Commission’ Guidance on Landfill gas control (2013)
• EU new Circular Economy Action Plan 11/03/2020
• EU Endorsed work programme 2020-2022 to improve environmental compliance and governance
• Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC as amended by Directive 2018/851/EC.
• European Parliament resolution of 13 September 2018 on implementation of the circular economy package: options to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation (2018/2589(RSP).
• Commission Staff Working Document “Sustainable Products in a Circular Economy – Towards an EU Product Policy Framework contributing to the Circular Economy” {SWD(2019) 92 final}.
• Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: “The role of waste-to-energy in the circular economy”.
• Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC as amended by Directive 2018/850/EU.
• Industrial Emission Directive 2010/75/EU