Council Directive 91/156/EEC amending Directive 75/442/EEC on waste.

A set of Community rules on waste disposal has been established under Directive 75/442/EEC. In the light of the principle of a high level of environmental protection, the aim pursued is to encourage the recycling and reuse of waste as raw materials. The present Directive lays down particular amendments and addenda to that Directive. First, articles 1 to 12 shall be replaced by the provisions laid down in article 1 hereto. Waste shall mean any substance or object falling in the categories set out in Annex I which the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard. The following shall be excluded from the scope of the Directive: (a) gaseous effluents emitted into the atmosphere; (b) if they are already envisaged by other legislation: (i) radioactive waste; (ii) waste resulting from prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries; (iii) animal carcases and certain agricultural waste; (iv) waste waters; (v) decommissioned explosives. The following objectives are to be attained: (1) the prevention or reduction of waste production and its harmfulness; (2) the recovery of waste by means of recycling, reuse or reclamation or any other process with a view to extracting secondary raw materials, or the use of waste as a source of energy. Further provisions are added to Directive 75/442/EEC. In accordance with the polluter pays principle, the cost of disposing of waste must be borne by the holder who has waste handled by a waste collector or by an undertaking as referred to in article 9, or the previous holders or the producer of the product from which the waste came (art. 15). Three Annexes shall be inserted. Annex I, as mentioned above, contains the list of categories of waste which fall within the scope of these provisions. Annex IIA lists out disposal operations such as they occur in practice. In accordance with article 4, waste must be disposed of without endangering human health and without the use of processes or methods likely to harm the environment. Lastly, Annex IIB lists out operations which might lead to recovery.