European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 323/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 1st September, 2020.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS 1. Citation 2. Interpretation — general 3. Purpose of Regulations Part 2 AMENDMENTS TO ACT OF 1996 4. Amendment to section 3 of the Act of 1996 5. Amendment to section 4 of the Act of 1996 6 to 7. Amendments to section 4 of the Act of 1996 8. Amendment to section 21A of the Act of 1996 9. Amendments to section 22 of the Act of 1996 10. Replacement of section 27A of the Act of 1996 11. Insertion of section 27B into the Act of 1996 12. Amendment to section 29 of the Act of 1996 13. Replacement of section 31A of the Act of 1996 14. Insertion of Sixth and Seventh Schedules into the Act of 1996 Part 3 AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS OF 2011 15. Amendment to Regulation 27 of the Regulations of 2011 16. Amendment to regulation 28 of the Regulations of 2011 17. Amendment to Regulation 29 in the Regulations of 2011 18. Amendment to Regulation 30 in the Regulations of 2011 19. Insertion of Regulation 30A to the Regulations of 2011 20. Amendment to Regulation 31 in the Regulations of 2011 21. Insertion of Regulation 31A in the Regulations of 2011 22. Amendment of Regulation 34 in the Regulations of 2011 23. Replacement of Regulation 36 in the Regulations of 2011 24. Replacement of Regulation 37 in the Regulations of 2011 25. Replacement of Regulation 38 in the Regulations of 2011 26. Replacement of Regulation 45 in the Regulations of 2011 27. Amendment to Regulation 50 in the Regulations of 2011 28. Replacement of Regulation 52 in the Regulations of 2011

I, EAMON RYAN Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2018/8511 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on waste and amending certain Directives, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation

1. (a) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2020.

(b) These Regulations and the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 126 of 2011 shall be construed together as one and may be collectively cited as the European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011-2020.

Interpretation - general

2. (1) In these Regulations—

‘Act of 1992’ means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

‘Act of 1996’means the Waste Management Act 1996 (No. 10 of 1996);

‘Regulations of 2011’ means the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 126 of 2011 );

‘Waste Directive’ means Directive 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on waste and amending certain Directives

‘Packaging Directive’ means Directive 2018/8522 amending Directive 94/62/EC3 on packaging and packaging waste

‘Landfill Directive’ means Directive 2018/8504 amending Directive 1999/31/EC5 on the landfill of waste

‘Batteries Directive’ means Directive 2006/66/EC6 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators as amended by Directive 2018/849.7

‘WEEE Directive’ means Directive 2012/19/EU8 on waste electrical and electronic equipment as amended by Directive 2018/849.

‘ELV Directive’ means Directive 2000/53/EC9 on end-of-life vehicles as amended by Directive 2018/849.

Purpose of Regulations

3. The purposes for which these Regulations are made include the purpose of giving effect to provisions of the Waste Directive and partial effect to the Batteries, ELV, WEEE, Packaging and Landfill Directive(s). The Regulations set out additional measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the generation of waste, the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use, which are crucial for the transition to a circular economy and long-term competitiveness.

PART 2

AMENDMENTS TO ACT OF 1996

Amendment to section 3 of the Act of 1996

4. The Act of 1996 is amended by insertion of the following after subsection 2(d):

“(e) substances that are destined for use as feed materials as defined in point (g) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC)No 767/200910 of the European Parliament and of the Council and that do not consist of or contain animal by-products.”

Amendment to section 4 of the Act of 1996

5. The following definitions are added to section 4 of the Act of 1996:

“‘non-hazardous waste’ means waste which is not covered by the definition of hazardous waste.”

Amendment to section 5 of the Act of 1996

6. Section 5 of the Act of 1996 is amended by the replacement of the definitions of ‘bio-waste’, ‘prevention’ and ‘waste management’ with the following:

“‘bio-waste’ means biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, offices, restaurants, wholesale, canteens, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food processing plants;

‘waste management’ means the collection, transport, recovery including sorting, and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, and including actions taken as a dealer or broker;

‘prevention’ means measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce:

(a) the quantity of waste, including through the re-use of products or the extension of the life span of products;

(b) the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health; or

(c) the content of hazardous substances in materials and products;”

7. Section 5 of the Act of 1996 is amended by the insertion of the following definitions for ‘backfilling’, ‘extended producer responsibility’, ‘material recovery’ ,‘municipal waste’, ‘construction and demolition waste’ and ‘food waste’ :

“‘municipal waste’ means:

(a) mixed waste and separately collected waste from households, including paper and cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, bio-waste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste batteries and accumulators, and bulky waste, including mattresses and furniture;

(b) mixed waste and separately collected waste from other sources, where such waste is similar in nature and composition to waste from households;

Municipal waste does not include waste from production, agriculture, forestry, fishing, septic tanks and sewage network and treatment, including sewage sludge, end-of-life vehicles or construction and demolition waste. This definition is without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste management between public and private actors;

‘construction and demolition waste’ means waste generated by construction and demolition activities;

‘food waste’ means all food as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/200211 of the European Parliament and of the Council that has become waste;

‘material recovery’ means any recovery operation, other than energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or other means to generate energy. It includes, inter alia, preparing for re-use, recycling and backfilling;

‘backfilling’ means any recovery operation where suitable non-hazardous waste is used for purposes of reclamation in excavated areas or for engineering purposes in landscaping. Waste used for backfilling must substitute non-waste materials, be suitable for the aforementioned purposes, and be limited to the amount strictly necessary to achieve those purposes;

‘extended producer responsibility scheme’ means a set of measures taken by Member States to ensure that producers of products bear financial responsibility or financial and organisational responsibility for the management of the waste stage of a product’s life cycle.

‘the Regulations of 2020’ means the European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. No. 323 of 2020 ); ”

Amendment to section 21A of the Act of 1996 (Waste hierarchy)

8. Section 21A of the Act of 1996 is amended with the insertion of the following after paragraph (4), as follows:

“(5) The Minister shall make use of economic instruments and other measures to provide incentives for the application of the waste hierarchy, such as those indicated in the Sixth Schedule or other appropriate instruments and measures.

(6) In order to contribute to the objectives laid down in Directives 2000/53/EC on the end-of-life vehicles, 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, and 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment, the Minister may also make use of the economic instruments and measures referred to under sub-paragraph (5) and indicated in the Sixth Schedule.”

Amendments to section 22 of the Act of 1996 (Waste management plans.)

9. (1) Subsection (6)(b) is replaced as follows:

“(b) A waste management plan shall contain, as appropriate, and taking into account the geographical level and coverage of the planning area, at least the following:

(i) (I) the type, quantity and source of waste generated within the territory, the waste likely to be shipped from or to the national territory, and an evaluation of the development of waste streams in the future; and

(II) a requirement that, in order to fulfil this obligation, liaison shall be undertaken, as appropriate, with the Minister, the Agency, Dublin City Council and other relevant local authorities;

(ii) existing major disposal and recovery installations, including any special arrangements for waste oils, hazardous waste, waste containing significant amounts of critical raw materials, or waste streams addressed by specific Union legislation;

(iii) an assessment of the need for...