Regulation on the Landfilling of Waste

The Regulation on the Landfilling of Waste was published in the Official Gazette No. 27533 on 26 March 2010 and entered into force on 1 April 2010 (Article 34). The current text includes four amendments: 11 March 2015 (No. 29292), 26 December 2019 (No. 30990), 19 March 2021 (No. 31428) and 24 June 2022 (No. 31876). The regulation sets the technical and administrative rules for establishing, operating and closing landfills and for accepting waste (Article 1).

How are landfills classified?

Landfills are classified as Class I, II and III by the limit values in Annex 2. Municipal waste is disposed of at Class II landfills, and only inert waste is landfilled at Class III facilities (Articles 5 and 10). The distance from the facility boundary to residential areas must be at least one kilometre for Class I and at least two hundred and fifty metres for Class II and III (Article 15). The landfill base is built with a barrier layer and leachate collection system according to the class (Article 16).

Which wastes are not accepted at landfills?

The following are not accepted: liquid waste; explosive, corrosive, oxidising, highly flammable or flammable waste; infectious medical waste that has not been pre-treated; used tyres covered by the End-of-Life Tyres Regulation; and other waste that does not meet the acceptance criteria in Annex 2 (Article 9). Waste may not be diluted or mixed to meet acceptance criteria. Except for inert waste whose treatment gives no practical benefit or is technically impossible, waste is not accepted without pre-treatment (Article 10).

How does the three-level acceptance check work?

The basic characteristics of the waste are defined before shipment; compliance testing determines which class of landfill it may go to; and verification testing is carried out on waste arriving at the site (Article 18). The waste holder must give the operator information such as the source, code, composition and analyses of the waste and is responsible for its accuracy (Article 19). Annex 2 analyses are valid for five years; if the process, raw material or additives of the waste producer change, the analysis is renewed within one month (Article 10). The operator does not accept vehicles without a transport licence or not registered by the Ministry and reports this to the provincial directorate, reports rejected waste to the directorate within 24 hours, and keeps records on waste for at least five years (Article 18).

What are the licensing, operating and post-closure obligations?

A landfill obtains a licence from the Ministry on the basis of a municipal permit or licence; the process includes a feasibility report, a positive EIA decision, project approval and a temporary operation certificate (Articles 11-12). The operator reports measurement and analysis results to the Ministry at intervals not exceeding one year; Class I facilities must take out financial liability insurance against damage to third parties (Article 13). Site engineers obtain a Vocational Qualification Certificate. At facilities accepting biodegradable waste, landfill gas is collected and used for energy, or flared if that is uneconomic (Article 8). Class I and II sites are monitored and inspected for at least thirty years after their service life ends (Article 27).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

Landfilling is the last resort in the waste hierarchy: if waste can be recovered, pre-treatment or recovery should be considered first. A business that generates waste must have it analysed and identify the correct class of facility before sending it to a landfill. For companies that dispose of waste, this means building pre-treatment and acceptance criteria into the shipment plan. For hazardous waste, the provisions of the Communiqué on the Road Transport of Waste also apply (Article 18).

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are subject to the relevant articles of the Environment Law (Article 32). Asbestos-containing construction waste and other asbestos waste may be landfilled in Class II facilities in a separate cell under certain conditions, and gypsum-based waste has special provisions (Article 30). Companies sending waste should monitor the validity date of the analysis report, the carrier's licence and receipts.