In the view of the EU Commission the law may have a stigmatizing effect.Continue reading
After the Sovereignty Protection Act, the proceedings are now about reducing the amount of waste generated and reducing and improving resource use, as well as the amendments to the Landfill Directive, which Hungary has not implemented properly.
The European Commission has decided to launch infringement proceedings and send a letter of formal notice to Hungary for failing to transpose the Waste Framework Directive correctly, according to its communication. The directive aims to prevent and control waste generation, reduce the overall impact of resource use, and improve efficiency, essential for the transition to a circular economy and to ensure the EU’s long-term competitiveness.
The amendments to the Landfill Directive set binding targets for recycling and preparing municipal waste for re-use, reports Index. It also introduces requirements for Member States to improve their waste management systems and resource efficiency.
The deadline for Member States to transpose the amended directive into national law was July 5, 2020. The commission has already launched infringement proceedings against 11 other Member States (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Austria).
The commission found that Hungary had not correctly transposed several provisions of the amended directive.
It contains provisions setting out the criteria for certain wastes to cease to be waste and become a product or secondary raw material (recycled material). In addition, the requirements for national targets for extended producer responsibility schemes and for the disclosure of financial contributions, as well as the requirements for regular review of derogations for recovery operations, are not in line with the directive.
Furthermore, it was also highlighted that Hungary has not taken measures to encourage home composting.
Photo via Facebook/MOHU
The commission is therefore sending Hungary a letter of formal notice, giving it two months to respond and remedy the shortcomings raised by the body. In the absence of a satisfactory reply, the commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The European Commission has also launched infringement proceedings and sent a letter of formal notice against Hungary for failing to properly transpose the Landfill Directive,
setting standards for landfills to prevent adverse effects on human health, water, soil, and air.
Under this directive, Member States must take measures to ensure that only treated waste is landfilled. The regulation sets a target of reducing municipal landfills to 10 percent by 2035; bans the landfilling of waste suitable for recycling or other recovery operations from 2030; and lays down rules for calculating the landfill reduction target. The dsirective also requires Member States to introduce an effective quality control and traceability system for municipal waste that is landfilled.
Among other things, Hungary has not properly transposed the provision of the directive requiring that waste collected separately for preparation for re-use and recycling should not be landfilled.
The commission is therefore also sending a letter of formal notice to Hungary, which now has two months to respond and remedy the shortcomings.
In the absence of a satisfactory reply, the commission may again decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The European Commission last took action against Hungary at the beginning of October, when the executive decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union over a law on the protection of national sovereignty which it considers to be in breach of EU law.
Via Index; Featured image via Pixabay