February, 2006
European Commission DG ENV
News Alert
02 February, 2006
Management of Residues from Waste Incineration in Europe.
The EU waste strategy gives top priority to waste prevention, followed by treatment measures such as recycling, reuse,incineration (with energy recovery), and as a last resort, landfilling.
Precluding the increasing quantities of municipal waste from landfilling is forecasted to lead to an increase in the volume of incinerated waste across the EU and expand the related recycling market.
Recent developments in waste management options have focused on recycling and reuse of solid incineration residues (i.e. bottom ash, fly ash, and air pollution residues), namely for construction purposes. The major environmental concern is the leaching of heavy metals (mainly Cu, Pb, and Zn) that are present in such residues.
Consequently, heavy metal leaching properties of the residues must be tested by leaching tests and compared to the established limit values.
However, the recycling of incineration residues is not yet regulated at the European level thus management practices, including the choice of leaching tests for incineration residues, vary substantially among different countries.
In a recent study, Belgian researchers have compared the existing legislation on recycling and landfilling of bottomash, fly ash and air pollution residues in Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium), The Netherlands, Germany, and France.
They have also assessed the differences in the use of heavy metal leaching tests and limit values in different countries.
Contrary to Flanders, the recycling of bottom ash is specifically regulated in Wallonia, France, Germany and The Netherlands. In order to facilitate the recycling option, the limit values for heavy metal leaching in these countries are generally less stringent compared to the limit values required for recycling of other waste types. Furthermore, the treatment measures to reduce leaching before recycling are performed on regular and standardised bases.
In Flanders, no specific limit values exist for bottom ash. The treatment measures are not a standard procedure which makes the Flemish market for bottom ash recycling very restricted.
As a result, in 2001, 54 000 tons of mainly treated bottom ash was exported from Flanders to the Netherlands and 17 000 tons to Germany.
With respect to leaching tests, two main tests- column and extraction tests are applied, but their use is not homogenised, e.g. the Netherlands use a column test, France uses an extraction test, and Flanders uses both.
Since limit values for recycling are determined on the basis of the tests, their comparison between countries is rather difficult. Nevertheless, the researchers were able to compare the limit value for bottom ash within one particular type of leaching test. The comparison showed that a given bottom ash residue could be recycled in the Netherlands and France, while it would need further treatment in Flanders, Wallonia, and Germany.
Based on these findings, the authors conclude that the existing differences in legislation between the European countries may lead to both legal and illegal transport of important quantities of waste between the countries. They suggest that in order to prevent the possibly negative impacts of such activities on the environment and human health, the harmonization of legislation on the EU level is needed. As the market for recycling is likely to expand both nationally and internationally, the scientists highlight the need for the development and implementation of a European legislation on recycling of the residues of solid municipal waste incineration.
Source: Van Garven, T. et al. (2005) “Management of incinerator residues in Flanders (Belgium) and in neighbouring countries.
Theme(s): Waste
Opinions expressed in this News Alert do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.
Recycling of incineration residues from municipal solid waste is predicted to expand in the EU in the near future. A recent comparison of recycling legislations in EU countries has shown that management practices for incineration residues are very different in different jurisdictions. Such
discrepancy in legislations may lead to important legal and illegal transport of waste across Europe. This highlights the need for a legislation on recycling of incineration waste residues at the EU level.
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