By KYIV. Nov 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – In Ukraine, in accordance with EU Directive 1999/31 on waste disposal, requirements for the operation of landfills will be tightened, the press service of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine reported, noting that the new rules will regulate not only the conditions of technical operation of sites, but also the cessation of operation of landfills and their after-care.
“The new rules must fully comply with European standards and help maintain the state of environmental safety. The Ministry of Natural Resources has already developed a document that will establish European requirements for landfills,” the press service said on Thursday, citing Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets.
The draft has already been “repeatedly discussed with experts, the public and market participants. Everything is done for the rules to be effective. They did not just remain “written on paper,” but allowed Ukraine to carry out a high-quality waste management reform and achieve its goal. We are open to dialogue and joint finalization of regulations. The key thing is that the new regulation must comply with EU Directive 1999/31 on waste disposal,” Strilets said.
As reported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the current rules for the operation of landfills “have been in force since 2010, but relate only to the technical operation of solid waste processing sites. The regulation does not cover such issues as the cessation of operation of landfills and their after-care, reclamation, and the like. In addition, Unlike the EU, in Ukraine there is a fairly limited number of criteria by which the impact of landfills on the environment is monitored – so far the impact on air, water and soil is only determined.”
As reported, “the new rules will concern landfills for hazardous waste, as well as non-hazardous and inert waste. They will regulate not only the operation of these sites, but also the cessation of their operation and reclamation. The monitoring program will include, in addition to the usual components, also such components as noise load, filtrate and industrial wastewater, subsidence of the landfill body, meteorological parameters, and the like.”
In addition, the procedure for accepting waste for landfilling will be clearly defined – document verification, visual control and on-site verification, etc. Requirements will also be established for what waste cannot be disposed in landfills. These are, for example, liquid, explosive and hospital and other clinical waste. It will also be prohibited to accept waste that has been separately collected for reuse and recycling.
