Danish "Waste Treatment Act"
("Bekendtgørelse om affald")
The Danish "Waste Treatment Act" ("Bekendtgørelse om affald") aims to regulate waste management, increase the utilization rate of resource recycling, and reduce the impact of waste on the environment. This law covers all aspects of waste treatment, including classification, planning, supervision, disposal systems, data management, etc., and is applicable to all types of waste and related activities, excluding residues from flue gas treatment based on fossil fuels.
Waste Definition and Classification
1. Definition:
Waste refers to any substance and item that the holder discards, intends to discard, or is obliged to discard, but does not include substances or items produced in the production process that meet specific conditions (such as being directly reusable, legal, and having no negative impact on the environment and health).
2. Classification
Municipal authorities are responsible for determining whether a substance or item is waste and further classifying it into hazardous waste, recyclable waste, combustible waste, landfill waste, etc.
For waste generated by enterprises, if the enterprise can prove that the waste can be recycled in a registered recycling facility, the municipal authority should classify it as source-sorted recyclable waste; if it is a mixed recyclable waste, the enterprise needs to prove that the mixture will not reduce the recyclability of each material.
Waste Management Planning
1. Municipal waste plan formulation
Municipal authorities formulate a 12-year waste management plan every 6 years, including an overview of the current situation, goal setting, and a planning section. The plan should be based on the national waste management plan and not conflict with it. Public announcements should be made during the formulation process to solicit a wide range of opinions.
2. Waste plan details and scope
The planning section needs to detail the estimated future waste volume, the need for new collection systems, the expected waste treatment methods, the planning of treatment facilities, landfill and incineration capacities, economic impacts, investment plans, etc., and different time ranges have different requirements for the degree of detail.
Regulatory Obligations and Measures
1. Formulating Regulations:
Municipal authorities are responsible for formulating waste treatment regulations for households and enterprises, including independent soil waste regulations. The regulations should follow specific paradigms and be published in the national regulatory database, taking effect 8 days after publication and no later than January 1, 2011 for the first time.
2. Specific Provisions
The regulations should determine the collection and designation arrangements, including the scope and organization of the collection system, container requirements, waste pretreatment, storage, marking, transportation, and penalty measures for violations.
The public has the right to comment on the draft regulations, and the municipal authority should provide relevant information in the announcement and ensure public participation.
Waste Collection and Treatment Arrangements
1. Household Waste
Municipal authorities should establish a collection system for household waste. For example, a door-to-door collection system should be established for the daily garbage of all households, and specific arrangements can be made in summer house areas; under certain conditions, households can be allowed to compost some waste or establish an independent organic waste sorting and collection system.
For recyclable waste such as paper, glass, metal, and plastic, corresponding collection systems should be established to ensure recycling. For example, a paper waste collection system should be established in densely populated areas, covering all types of paper products; a glass packaging waste collection system should be established to ensure the effective collection of recyclable glass waste.
2. Enterprise Waste
Municipal authorities should provide enterprises with access to recycling sites, establish corresponding collection systems, limit the conditions for enterprises to use recycling sites (such as vehicle weight, waste packaging, etc.), and limit the delivery volume of hazardous waste.
Enterprises can choose to participate in the municipal bio-waste treatment system, and the municipal authority can establish separate treatment arrangements for non-recyclable PVC waste, etc.
Waste Treatment Methods and Requirements
1. Incineration Treatment:
Combustible waste should be incinerated in approved facilities, and municipal authorities should ensure that this requirement is met, which can be achieved by signing agreements with incineration facilities. Under certain conditions (such as tree pruning waste in forest areas), incineration is allowed within a certain range, and municipal authorities can stipulate specific incineration conditions and restrictions in the regulations.
2. Landfill Treatment:
Citizens and enterprises are not allowed to dilute or mix waste to meet landfill conditions, and are not allowed to send specific types of waste (such as liquid waste, explosive waste, clinical risk waste, etc.) to landfills, unless the landfill conditions permit and the waste has been pretreated.
3. Special Waste Treatment
Enterprises that generate hazardous waste (except explosive waste) need to report to the municipal authority, including information such as the type, quantity, packaging, composition, and characteristics of the waste; enterprises that transport and handle hazardous waste need to record relevant information and keep it for 3 years, and should ensure that the hazardous waste is not diluted or mixed.
Enterprises that generate explosive waste need to ensure that it is handled in an environmentally friendly manner in approved facilities or designated areas; enterprises that generate or handle hazardous waste need to ensure that the waste is safely packaged.
Data Management and Reporting
1. Waste Data System (Affaldsdatasystemet):
The Ministry of Environment is responsible for establishing and managing the waste data system, which is used to collect and provide waste-related information.
2. Data Reporting Obligations
Waste treatment facilities, pretreatment facilities, collection enterprises, waste-generating enterprises (that handle or export waste themselves), waste import and export enterprises, etc. need to report relevant data to the waste data system, including information on the collection, reception, export, import, and final treatment of waste.
Reports should be made annually, with a deadline of January 31 of the following year. The first report covers the period from April to December 2010. Reports should be made through the designated website (www.virk.dk) using a digital signature, and the Ministry of Environment can report on behalf of foreign enterprises upon request.
Recycling and Enterprise Responsibilities
1. Enterprise Source Sorting Obligation:
Enterprises that generate waste should conduct source sorting and classify recyclable waste. For example, construction and demolition waste should be classified into different parts, including stone, concrete, metal, etc., and ensure the effective recycling of the sorted waste.
2. Cooperation between Recycling Facilities and Enterprises:
Enterprises should deliver the sorted recyclable waste to registered recycling facilities or approved collection enterprises. Collection enterprises need to ensure that the waste is delivered to the appropriate recycling facilities and bear the corresponding data reporting responsibilities.
Principles of Fee Setting and Collection
1. Municipal Authority Fee Setting:
Municipal authorities should formulate waste treatment fee standards, including the costs of planning, establishing, operating, and managing waste treatment systems. The fee standards should be published in a fee schedule and approved by the municipal authority.
2. Fee Collection Methods
Household waste fees are collected from property owners, and enterprise waste fees are collected from enterprise owners. The charging objects are determined according to the enterprise's registration information (such as CVR number).
Municipal authorities can set and collect special fees according to the actual situation, such as additional fees caused by incorrect sorting by residents or enterprises. The fees should be reasonably allocated to ensure that the income of each treatment system is sufficient to cover the costs. The basis for fee allocation can be determined through user surveys and other methods.
Supervision and Penalty Mechanism
1. Supervision Responsibilities:
Municipal authorities are responsible for supervising the compliance of this regulation. The Ministry of Environment is responsible for supervising the implementation of municipal authority decisions and the compliance of Chapter 17 of the regulation. Municipal treatment facilities need to pay the supervision fees of the Ministry of Environment.
2. Penalty Provisions
For violations of the regulations, such as failure to provide information, violation of municipal regulations, failure to use the waste treatment system as required, failure to classify, failure to report waste data, etc., fines will be imposed.
If the violation is committed intentionally or with gross negligence and causes damage to the environment or brings economic benefits, the penalty can be increased to a maximum of 2 years in prison, and legal entities such as corporations may also bear criminal liability.