According to the waste management hierarchy, landfilling is the least preferable option and should be limited to the necessary minimum. Where waste needs to be landfilled, it must be sent to landfills which comply with the requirements of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste. The objective of the Directive is to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular on surface water, groundwater, soil, air, and on human health from the landfilling of waste by introducing stringent technical requirements for waste and landfills.
The Landfill Directive defines the different categories of waste (municipal waste, hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste and inert waste) and applies to all landfills, defined as waste disposal sites for the deposit of waste onto or into land. Landfills are divided into three classes:
The Directive does not apply to:
A standard procedure for the acceptance of waste in a landfill is laid down so as to avoid any risks, including:
The following wastes may not be accepted in a landfill:
The Directive sets up a system of operating permits for landfill sites. Applications for permits must contain the following information:
Member States must ensure that existing landfill sites may not continue to operate unless they comply with the provisions of the Directive.
Council Directive 99/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste entered into force on 16.07.1999. The deadline for implementation of the legislation in the Member States was 16.07.2001.
Ancillary legislation relating to landfill of waste:
Guidance on landfill gas control – this non-binding guidance has been prepared in order to:
This document has been consulted with Member States and approved following the Technical Adaptation Committee meeting on 17 December 2013.
Reporting on implementation of the Landfill Directive is part of the general reporting on implementation of waste legislation. For more details, please consult the implementation reporting website.
The statistics concerning waste generation and treatment (including landfilling) are collected, processed and published by the Environmental Data Centre on Waste at Eurostat and can be found here.
Other Commission Reports
Revision of the Landfill Directive
By virtue of Article 5(2) of the Landfill Directive, by 2014, the Commission was required to prepare a report based on the practical experience gained by Member States in the pursuance of the targets laid down in Articles 5(2)(a) and 5(2)(b) of that Directive, accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal with a view to confirming or amending these targets in order to ensure a high level of environmental protection.
On 2 July 2014, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal to review waste-related targets in the Landfill Directive as well as recycling and other waste-related targets in Directive 2008/98/EC on waste and Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste. The proposal aims at phasing out landfilling by 2025 for recyclable waste (including plastics, paper, metals, glass and bio-waste) in non-hazardous waste landfills, corresponding to a maximum landfilling rate of 25%. More information, including the text of the proposal and background documents, can be found here.
Information on islands and isolated settlements exempted by Member States under Article 3(4) of the Landfill Directive
Pursuant to Article 3(4) of the Landfill Directive, Member States may declare parts or all of Articles 6(d), 7(i), 8(a)(iv), 10, 11(1)(a), (b) and (c), 12(a) and (c), Annex I, points 3 and 4, Annex II except point 3, level 3, and point 4, and Annex III, points 3 to 5 to this Directive not applicable to:
A) landfill sites for non-hazardous or inert wastes with a total capacity not exceeding 15 000 tonnes or with an annual intake not exceeding 1 000 tonnes serving islands, where this is the only landfill on the island and where this is exclusively destined for the disposal of waste generated on that island. Once the total capacity of that landfill has been used, any new landfill established on the island shall comply with the requirements of this Directive;
B) landfill sites for non-hazardous waste or inert waste in isolated settlements if the landfill is destined for the disposal of waste generated only by that isolated settlement.
By 16 July 2003, Member States had to notify the Commission of the list of islands and isolated settlements that are exempted. The Commission shall publish the list of islands and isolated settlements.
To date, the Commission has received such lists from two Member States: