Regulation on the Incineration of Waste

The Regulation on the Incineration of Waste was published in the Official Gazette No. 27721 on 6 October 2010 and entered into force on the date of publication (Article 19). The amendment reflected in the official consolidated text was published in the Official Gazette No. 30031 of 7 April 2017. Its purpose is to prevent and limit the adverse effects of waste incineration on air, soil, surface water and groundwater and the risks to human health (Article 1).

Which facilities does the regulation cover?

The regulation covers the minimum requirements for waste incineration and co-incineration plants. A co-incineration plant is one whose main purpose is to generate energy or manufacture products and which uses waste as alternative or additional fuel; if its main aim is the thermal disposal of waste, it is treated as an incineration plant (Article 4). Certain wastes such as agricultural and forestry plant waste, radioactive waste and animal carcasses, and pilot plants disposing of less than 50 tonnes of waste a year, are excluded (Article 2).

How do licensing and trial burns work?

Incineration and co-incineration plants must obtain a licence from the Ministry under the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation (Article 7). Before the licence, a trial burn is carried out during the temporary operation certificate period. For waste incineration plants this lasts three months under the supervision of the Ministry or the provincial directorate; a co-incineration plant must carry out a trial burn for the waste it plans to burn, and the trial plan cannot start without the Ministry's approval (Article 8). A new trial may be needed if a licensed plant increases capacity or wants to burn waste beyond what its permit covers.

What are the operating conditions and emission limits?

In incineration plants, the gas from the process must remain in the second combustion chamber for at least two seconds at 850 °C; if hazardous waste containing more than 1% halogenated organic substances is co-incinerated, the temperature must be raised to 1100 °C (Article 10). An automatic system must stop waste feed if the temperature cannot be achieved or an emission limit is exceeded. Medical waste is fed directly into the furnace by automatic feed without being mixed with other waste. Dioxin and furan concentrations, regardless of the type and quantity of waste burned, cannot exceed 0.1 ng/Nm³ TE (Article 11). If limits are exceeded, a plant may not continue burning waste for more than four hours without interruption, and the total of such periods must be less than sixty hours a year (Article 16).

How are monitoring, wastewater and residues managed?

A continuous monitoring system is installed for pollutants released to air and water, with additional periodic measurements; heavy metals, dioxins and furans are measured at least twice a year (Articles 14-15). Licensed plants send a mass-balance table, including the type, quantity and source of accepted waste, to the Ministry monthly. There are limit values for wastewater from flue-gas cleaning and diluting wastewater is prohibited (Article 12). The quantity and harm of residues are minimised and suitable residues recycled; dry powdery residues are transported in closed systems (Article 13).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

Businesses that need hazardous, medical or non-recyclable waste destroyed by incineration should use only licensed incineration plants. Before acceptance, it is determined whether the waste is hazardous and whether it contains radioactive material (Article 5). For hazardous waste, the plant requests information on the nature of the waste and keeps samples representative of the waste for at least six months after incineration (Article 9). Hazardous waste is never burned at municipal waste incineration plants (Article 5). Recovery of the heat generated is the rule as far as possible.

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are subject to administrative sanctions under Articles 15, 20 and 23 of Environment Law No. 2872 (Article 18). Licence documents and conditions are made publicly available on the Ministry's website (Article 17). Companies sending waste should verify that the plant's licence covers the relevant waste code and that transport is done with a licensed vehicle and the national waste transport form (Article 5).