Dedicated body needed to enforce waste law

A study published by the European Commission recommends the creation of a dedicated European body to oversee the implementation and enforcement of European Union waste law.

This forms part of a series of steps being taken by the EC to improve waste management and ensure it meets the requirements set by EU legislation to protect human health and the environment.

Illegal dumping of waste continues to be a significant concern and a second report reveals that almost 20% of waste shipments inspected as part of recent enforcement actions in Member States were illegal. A lack of inspections and on-the-spot checks were identified as possible factors.

Overseeing the safe and environmentally sound management of waste is without doubt one of the major challenges facing the EU today. An estimated 2.6 billion tonnes of waste is generated in the EU each year with around 90 million tonnes of this classified as hazardous.

A dedicated agency at EU level is recommended to tackle the problems of poor implementation and enforcement of European waste legislation.

The agency would carry out a number of tasks such as reviews of enforcement systems in Member States as well as coordinated controls and inspection activities.

This would be combined with the creation of a specific European body that would be responsible for direct inspections and controls of facilities in serious cases of non-compliance.

The recommendations are based on the responses of Member State officials and stakeholders via questionnaires, interviews and informal workshops and would attract an annual cost in the region of €16 million.