Decision 2020/519 - Sectoral reference document on best environmental management practices, sector environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence for the waste management sector under Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) - Main contents

COMMISSION DECISION (EU) 2020/519

of 3 April 2020

on the sectoral reference document on best environmental management practices, sector environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence for the waste management sector under Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), repealing Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 and Commission Decisions 2001/681/EC and 2006/193/EC (1), and in particular Article 46(1) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The sectoral reference document on best environmental management practices, sector environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence for the waste management sector is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 12 August 2020.

Done at Brussels, 3 April 2020.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

• (1) 

  OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 1.

• (2) 

  Communication from the Commission – Establishment of the working plan setting out an indicative list of sectors for the adoption of sectoral and cross-sectoral reference documents, under Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) (OJ C 358, 8.12.2011, p. 2).

• (3) 

  Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).

• (4) 

  Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).

• (5) 

  Dri M., Canfora P., Antonopoulos I. S., Gaudillat P., Best Environmental Management Practice for the Waste Management Sector, JRC Science for Policy Report, EUR 29136 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, ISBN 978-92-79-80361-1, doi:10.2760/50247, JRC111059; http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/emas/documents/WasteManagementBEMP.pdf

ANNEX

• 1. 

  INTRODUCTION

This sectoral reference document (SRD) is based on a detailed science for policy report (1) (‘Best Practice Report’) developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Relevant legal background

The Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) was introduced in 1993, for voluntary participation by organisations, by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 (2). Subsequently, EMAS has undergone two major revisions:

An important new element of the latest revision, which came into force on 11 January 2010, is Article 46 on the development of SRDs. The SRDs have to include best environmental management practices (BEMPs), environmental performance indicators for the specific sectors and, where appropriate, benchmarks of excellence and rating systems identifying performance levels.

How to understand and use this document

The eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) is a scheme for voluntary participation by organisations committed to continuous environmental improvement. Within this framework, this SRD provides sector-specific guidance to the waste management sector and points out a number of options for improvement as well as best practices. This SRD is without prejudice to legal requirements in the relevant field.

The document was written by the European Commission using input from stakeholders. A Technical Working Group, comprising experts and stakeholders of the sector, led by the JRC, discussed and ultimately agreed on the best environmental management practices, sector-specific environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence described in this document; these benchmarks in particular were deemed to be representative of the levels of environmental performance that are achieved by the best performing organisations in the sector.

The SRD aims to help and support all organisations that intend to improve their environmental performance by providing ideas and inspiration as well as practical and technical guidance.

The SRD is primarily addressed to organisations that are already registered with EMAS; secondly to organisations that are considering registering with EMAS in the future; and thirdly to all organisations that wish to learn more about best environmental management practices in order to improve their environmental performance. Consequently, the objective of this document is to support all organisations in the waste management sector to focus on relevant environmental aspects, both direct and indirect, and to find information on best environmental management practices, as well as appropriate sector-specific environmental performance indicators to measure their environmental performance, and benchmarks of excellence.

How SRDs should be taken into account by EMAS registered organisations

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009, EMAS registered organisations are to take SRDs into account at two different levels:

Elements of SRDs (indicators, BEMPs or benchmarks of excellence) not considered relevant with regards to the significant environmental aspects identified by the organisation in its environmental review should not be reported or described in the environmental statement.

EMAS participation is an ongoing process. Every time an organisation plans to improve its environmental performance (and reviews its environmental performance) it shall consult the SRD on specific topics to find inspiration about which issues to tackle next in a step-wise approach.

EMAS environmental verifiers shall check if and how the SRD was taken into account by the organisation when preparing its environmental statement (Article 18(5)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009).

When undertaking an audit, accredited environmental verifiers will need evidence from the organisation of how the relevant elements of the SRD have been selected in light of the environmental review and taken into account. They shall not check compliance with the described benchmarks of excellence, but they shall verify evidence on how the SRD was used as a guide to identify indicators and proper voluntary measures that the organisation can implement to improve its environmental performance.

Given the voluntary nature of EMAS and SRD, no disproportionate burdens should be put on the organisations to provide such evidence. In particular, verifiers shall not require an individual justification for each of the best practices, sector-specific environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence which are mentioned in the SRD and not considered relevant by the organisation in the light of its environmental review. Nevertheless, they could suggest relevant additional elements for the organisation to take into account in the future as further evidence of its commitment to continuous performance improvement.

Structure of the document

This document consists of four sections. Section 1 introduces EMAS’ legal background and describes how to use this document, while Section 2 defines the scope of this reference document. Section 3 briefly describes the different Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs) (5), together with information on their applicability. When specific environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence could be formulated for a particular BEMP, these are also given. In case indicators and benchmarks are relevant for more than one BEMP, they are repeated whenever appropriate. Section 3 also defines, in addition to the indicators set in the individual BEMPs, a number of environmental performance indicators that can be used to assess the overall performance of municipal solid waste management systems. Defining benchmarks of excellence was not possible for all BEMPs and indicators either because of the limited availability of data or because the specific conditions of each waste authority or waste management company (e.g. rural or urban territory, type of separate collection and waste management system adopted, local consumption patterns) vary to such an extent that a benchmark of excellence would not be meaningful. Even when benchmarks of excellence are given, these are not meant as targets for all waste authorities or waste management companies to reach or metrics to compare the environmental performance across the sector, but rather as a measure of what is possible to help individual organisations assess the progress they made and motivate them to improve further.

Finally, Section 4 presents a comprehensive table with a selection of the most relevant environmental performance indicators, associated explanations and related benchmarks of excellence.

• 2. 

  SCOPE

This Sectoral Reference Document addresses two types of organisations of the waste management sector: waste management companies (public and private), including companies implementing producer responsibility schemes, and waste authorities (public administrations in charge of waste management, mainly at local level). Such organisations are included in the following NACE codes (according to the statistical classification of economic activities established by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6)):

This Sectoral Reference Document does not cover the activities of organisations that generate waste and do not belong to the waste management sector (i.e. most organisations).

This Sectoral Reference Document describes best practices for the following waste management phases and activities:

In the area of waste treatment, the scope of this Sectoral Reference Document is limited to facilities performing treatments outside the scope of the Industrial Emissions Directive (7) (e.g. sorting facilities with the aim to recycle plastics).

This Sectoral Reference Document deals with three waste streams:

Industrial waste and commercial waste that is not part of MSW are not covered in this document.

This reference document is divided into five main sections (Table 2-1) which cover, from the perspective of the target organisations, the main environmental aspects related to the management of waste.

Table 2-1

Structure of the SRD for the waste management sector and main environmental aspects addressed

For each of the main environmental aspects identified in Table 2-1, Table 2-2 presents the related main environmental impacts addressed in this document. The environmental aspects presented in Table 2-1 and Table 2-2 were selected as the most commonly relevant in the sector. However, the environmental aspects to be managed by specific companies need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Table 2-2

Most relevant environmental aspects and related main environmental impacts addressed in this document

• 3. 

  BEST ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, SECTOR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND BENCHMARKS OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR

3.1.   Cross-cutting BEMPs

BEMPs presented in this section deal with cross-cutting issues of waste management that are relevant for all the waste streams considered (i.e. municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste and healthcare waste).

3.1.1.   Integrated waste management strategies

It is BEMP to develop and implement an integrated waste management strategy that considers:

The development of a waste management strategy requires knowledge of the quantity and quality of each major waste stream through an appropriate data monitoring approach and a sound evaluation of waste management options. This may require, in some cases, the use of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to identify options associated with the best environmental performance (see BEMP 3.1.2), which may sometimes depart from the waste hierarchy.

Applicability

This BEMP is primarily targeted to waste authorities with control, or at least significant influence over, waste management strategy at the local or regional level – primarily local authorities. The waste authority may need to outsource aspects of strategic planning where particular specialist expertise, such as analytical data skills and knowledge of waste treatment processing, are required.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.1.2.   Life cycle assessment of waste management options

It is BEMP to embed life-cycle thinking and assessment into waste management strategy and operations, with steps 1 and 2 (below) being essential and steps 3 to 8 needing an ad-hoc life-cycle assessment (LCA) to be carried out and not always necessary:

Applicability

A full life-cycle assessment is not always necessary. Basic prioritisation of the waste management options indicated in the waste management hierarchy may be sufficient to inform best practice in some cases. However, detailed comparison of options ranked similarly in the waste hierarchy and of management changes that affect the overall waste chain performance are often required.

Waste management organisations of any size may apply life-cycle thinking and review LCA studies. Buying bespoke LCA services and/or paying for staff training in LCA may only be economically viable for larger organisations.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.1.3.   Economic instruments

It is BEMP to use economic instruments, to steer the behaviour of citizens and organisations generating waste towards more environmentally friendly results. Economic instruments can support:

The economic instruments related to waste management cover both incentives (positive economic signals, e.g. discounts, reward vouchers) and disincentives (negative economic signals, e.g. taxes, fees, penalties) and can take the form of:

Applicability

The regulatory framework and its enforcement are the main barriers for the application of economic instruments at local level.

In addition, the existence of environmental awareness, good management skills and innovation-driven behaviour at the local government level, with some good accounting practices, are prerequisites for the implementation of local economic instruments, which are complex to manage from the technical, managerial and social perspectives.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.1.4.   Link to other relevant reference documents for best practices

It is BEMP to implement state-of-the-art techniques that maximise resource efficiency and minimise environmental impact in the areas of waste treatment (including material recycling, energy recovery and waste disposal). Useful reference documents (non-exhaustive list) on relevant state-of-the-art techniques that organisations can refer to are:

Applicability

This BEMP is targeted to local waste authorities and waste management companies planning and carrying out operations in the areas of waste treatment, material recycling, energy recovery and waste disposal.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.   BEMPs for municipal solid waste

BEMPs presented in this section deal with the management of municipal solid waste (MSW).

Strategy BEMPs

3.2.1.   Cost benchmarking

Choices related to waste management are greatly affected by economic factors; carrying out cost benchmarking by comparing the cost structure of a municipality with data of other municipalities is BEMP as it allows the identification of optimisation options which may open the door to more environmentally friendly practices. Cost benchmarking can be carried out internally, by an independent third party or in cooperation with other municipalities. Cost figures analysed typically include costs for waste management services and for the disposal of certain waste fractions as well as revenues gained from the sale of waste that is sent to preparation for re-use or recycling and other by-products.

All relevant waste fractions generated within the territory considered and belonging to MSW need to be taken into account in the cost benchmarking. Comprehensive analyses include costs for waste collection, waste treatment (sorting, recovery, disposal, etc.) including the management of closed landfills, staff costs and all other waste-management-related costs.

Applicability

Cost benchmarking can be applied within an area (at local or national level) where waste management conditions are comparable and where there is a uniform legal framework. However, in some cases, strong deviations occur due to specific conditions. Cost benchmarking is particularly relevant for areas with poorly performing waste management systems, in order to support the shift to better performing waste management options.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.2.   Advanced waste monitoring

The development and implementation of an efficient and effective waste management strategy is based on detailed knowledge of statistical data for the waste streams collected and managed at local level.

It is thus BEMP to:

Waste monitoring data are useful both for internal analysis (such as evaluating the potential implementation of a new measure) and for sharing with the relevant public administration and citizens to drive improvement and awareness.

Applicability

Detailed waste monitoring is applicable to all local authorities and waste management companies managing municipal solid waste. For organisations starting the process, waste monitoring may focus first on the most relevant waste fractions and eventually be extended to all fractions step by step.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.3.   Pay-as-you-throw

The aim of pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) is to enact the polluter pays principle in a fair way by charging users of the waste management system according to the amount of waste they generate.

It is BEMP to charge waste fees to users based on a fixed plus variable fee component, to reflect the cost structure of waste management and align incentives for users (i.e. lower fee when less waste is produced) and waste collectors (i.e. revenue stability from the fixed fee component).

In practice, the system can be implemented in various forms, typically:

The scheme can be focused on charging for residual waste only or also separated streams, still with the aim of fostering source separation and waste prevention.

The four key elements enabling the implementation of a PAYT scheme are:

Applicability

While the approach is broadly applicable, existing infrastructure must be adapted (e.g. collection). Door-to-door collection is usually necessary to fully implement PAYT principles.

Precautions must be taken to ensure that enforcement is ensured (e.g. no ‘leakage’ into the MSW of adjacent local authorities with no PAYT or into litter bins on the streets). This is more feasible when there is already an existing awareness of users regarding source-separation and broader environment and waste issues.

Depending on the implementation (e.g. in case of user identification of individual bins or bags), appropriate measures are needed to deal correctly with data privacy and confidentiality (e.g. secure data storage).

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.4.   Performance-based waste management contracting

It is BEMP for local authorities that contract out the delivery of certain MSW management services to private suppliers to include performance-based contract clauses. Performance-based contracting can ensure that both environmental and financial objectives are met.

Three main characteristics are inherent to a performance-based contract:

It is important for local authorities to base the performance clauses on a full set of indicators (for example taking inspiration from the indicators presented in Section 3.3) and appropriate monitoring. Special care needs to be taken in defining a baseline and bearing in mind the influence of the variation in external conditions (economic, social, regulations, etc.) on the benchmark mechanism.

Applicability

The existence of an effective waste management performance monitoring system is a prerequisite to performance-based waste monitoring system (building on internal management practices to expand to contract management).

When switching to a performance-based contract for the first time, it is also important to establish a dialogue with the prospective contractors and all stakeholders involved, in order to learn what is technically achievable and economically feasible.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.5.   Awareness-raising

Best practice in awareness-raising is to effectively encourage waste prevention, reuse and recycling behaviour within the waste collection catchment area. Ultimately, this should translate into improved performance across key waste generation and separation indicators.

Best practice awareness-raising campaigns need to:

Examples of two major barriers to recycling that may be overcome by awareness raising are:

Awareness campaigns for citizens may be delivered directly by the waste management organisation, by professional agencies on their behalf, or by partner organisations (including stakeholders in other sectors).

A whole range of communication channels can be used, which can include advertising, public relations, direct marketing, community engagement, online engagement, social media and product labelling.

Applicability

Awareness-raising can be implemented at some level in any context.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.6.   Establishment of a network of waste advisers

It is BEMP to set up a network of waste advisers (also called ‘waste (prevention) officers’, ‘recycling officers’, ‘waste (prevention) consultants’) at local level in order to raise the awareness of the general public (residents and small businesses delivering their waste to the local MSW management system).

The use of waste advisers is especially relevant to address specific issues by targeting a specific territory or audience with a poor separate collection rate or high contamination in separately collected fractions in order to deliver an adapted answer, as waste advisers can interact face to face.

Waste advisers typically have a prior qualification in the environmental field as well as knowledge of the practices of waste minimisation, reuse and recycling, and can be volunteers, part-time or full-time staff. Waste advisers can perform a range of activities, such as:

Applicability

This BEMP can be implemented at any level. However, waste advisers’ scope of action is more focused on the local level since they address operational issues (waste prevention and recycling guidelines).

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.7.   Home and community composting

In cases when home and community composting is the most appropriate waste management option for biowaste based on the waste management strategy adopted and/or on an LCA study on waste management options (see Sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2), it is BEMP to:

Applicability

In cases when home and community composting is the most appropriate waste management option for biowaste, there are no major restrictions to implementing this BEMP. However, the success of home and community composting as an environmental management strategy is highly dependent on the management of the waste separation and composting process by citizens who must be first engaged to motivate them to separate organic waste, and then trained to correctly manage the composting process. Additional effort is required to organise home and community composting in urban areas.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

BEMPs for waste prevention

3.2.8.   Local waste prevention programmes

It is BEMP to put in place waste prevention measures that target both households and public and private organisations. Some examples are adoption of local plastic bag charges, support for the setup of repair shops, introduction of product/material exchange areas in the territory as well as cooperation with social economy organisations, NGOs and restaurants to encourage the development of agreements for the reduction of food waste, thanks to donations. Waste prevention measures can be identified by:

Applicability

Waste prevention measures need to be carefully selected based on local circumstances and well implemented (e.g. some may need support by financial incentives) but there are suitable measures for any context.

Although some key waste prevention instruments can only be pursued at the international or national level (e.g. product policy, value-added taxation), there is also scope for action at the regional and local levels.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.9.   Schemes fostering the re-use of products and the preparation for re-use of waste

It is BEMP to encourage diversion of reusable products away from waste streams and into reuse streams, through the active establishment or facilitation of second-hand and municipal exchange markets (via repair workshops where necessary) or charity collections. Additionally, waste management organisations can send certain waste streams to preparation for reuse by establishing or facilitating the creation of reuse/repair centres.

The BEMP covers four key measures:

Applicability

This BEMP applies to all waste management organisations that handle any type of reusable items, in particular garments, furniture and electrical and electronic equipment.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

BEMPs for waste collection

3.2.10.   Waste collection strategy

It is BEMP to design and implement a waste collection strategy that considers:

The main goal of a waste collection strategy is to collect, in a timely and economical manner, as much correctly source separated waste as possible, in order to ease the subsequent waste sorting/treatment with the aim to maximise recycling. In many cases, these objectives can be pursued by setting up the following:

Applicability

The prevailing socioeconomic status and recycling consciousness within the area from which waste is collected needs to be considered in the definition of the waste collection strategy. More costly strategies, such as door-to-door collection, may prove more cost-effective once fully running, but require initial investment.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.11.   Inter-municipal cooperation among small municipalities

It is BEMP for small and medium municipalities to adopt inter-municipal cooperation that allows the implementation of measures that would be too costly for them to implement alone and can result in the improved environmental performance of the waste management system. Municipalities can join together to operate or contract out some waste management services, with the aim of delivering economies of scale and building critical mass.

Inter-municipal cooperation makes it possible for the municipalities involved to:

Applicability

There are no specific barriers for the application of inter-municipal cooperation in waste management. However, benefits from the economy of scale are only evident for small and medium municipalities.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.12.   Civic amenity sites

As a key complement to an effective door-to-door (kerbside) collection of the most common waste fractions, it is BEMP to run civic amenity sites (also called container parks, collection centres, clean points, ecopoints, recovery sites, waste parks, etc.) where citizens and small businesses can drop off as many waste fractions as possible for separate collection.

Elements of best practice for civic amenity sites include the following:

Applicability

The concept of collection centres is broadly applicable. The ultimate recyclability of the waste streams collected also depends on the availability of downstream markets.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.13.   Logistic optimisation for waste collection

It is BEMP to optimise the logistics of waste collection by:

Applicability

All organisations involved in waste collection can implement some degree of logistics optimisation (e.g. planning the location of waste bins). However, the actions are limited in some cases by existing organisational structures (e.g. on-going contracts for outsourced waste collection services).

In terms of collection strategy optimisation, logistics optimisation is secondary to optimising recycling.

Pneumatic waste collection systems are more suitable for densely populated areas and are easier to install in new developments than in existing urban areas.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.14.   Low-emission vehicles

It is BEMP to improve the fuel consumption and emissions of waste collection vehicles. Priority technology options include:

Applicability

This BEMP is broadly applicable. The presence of filling or recharging stations is less of an issue for refuse collection than other types of transport because vehicles are usually operated over a limited distance and the fleet is run from a centralised waste depot where refuelling can take place.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is available in all EU Member States. Biomethane may not be available in many regions, but wet organic waste (e.g. food waste) can be used to produce biogas that can be upgraded to transport biomethane.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

BEMPs for extended producer responsibility schemes

3.2.15.   Best use of incentives by producer responsibility organisations

It is BEMP for producer responsibility organisations (PROs) to enhance the performance of their extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme by setting up incentives (going beyond legal requirements) that drive increased separate collection, reuse and recycling rates for the waste collected under the EPR. Actions that PROs can implement include:

Applicability

The actual leverage that a PRO has on the EPR depends on the national setup and legal allocation of roles and responsibilities. For the application of some incentives, proper allocation of finances is needed. For this, the governance structure of the PRO may play a role (owned by producers or not, for or not for profit, etc.).

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

BEMPs for waste treatment

3.2.16.   Sorting of co-mingled light packaging waste to maximise recycling yields for high-quality output

When light packaging waste (i.e. packaging made of plastics, composites, aluminium and steel, sometimes also including fibres (paper and cardboard)) is collected together (co-mingled), it is BEMP to implement advanced sorting of the co-mingled packaging waste in materials recovery facilities (MRF).

A typical state-of-the-art plant has five main technical sections:

As MRFs tend to receive and sort materials from different local collection schemes, with varying compositions, a state-of-the-art MRF must have the flexibility to efficiently accommodate these variations.

Applicability

In principle, there are no barriers to building and operating a packaging waste sorting plant. However, careful planning (especially considering the collection schemes in place, the plant capacity and the availability of markets for the sorted materials) is required as part of an integrated waste management concept. An important factor that needs to be determined is the optimal plant capacity. Finally, the impurity rates of co-mingled light packaging waste delivered to the plant affect its operations, performance (e.g. plant sorting rate) and economics (e.g. processing costs, revenues from recyclable fractions).

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.17.   Processing of mixed plastic packaging waste to maximise recycling yields for high-quality output

It is BEMP to process separately collected mixed plastic packaging waste into individual material streams that can be transformed into valuable high-quality secondary raw materials and recycled products. The process encompasses the following steps:

Applicability

Good waste collection systems and the good quality of the collected materials need to be assured in order for the recycled output to be suitable for the market. Current market trends towards more complex multi-layer and multi-material plastic products also make mixed plastics sorting and reprocessing much more difficult. As with the previous BEMP, there are no general barriers to building and operating such a plant. However, careful planning and determination of the optimal plant capacity are important.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.18.   Treatment of mattresses for improved recycling of materials

It is BEMP to sanitise and disassemble end-of-life mattresses, separating and sorting the different materials by type.

Five main technical operations can be identified in a best performing end-of-life mattress treatment facility:

The disassembling and sorting operations can be carried out mechanically or (more commonly) manually.

Applicability

There are no main technical barriers to the applicability of this BEMP. The simplicity of the treatment process does not require significant investments, even for the most automated processes.

The most important obstacles for mattress recycling are identified as follows:

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.2.19.   Treatment of absorbent hygiene products for improved recycling of materials

It is BEMP to treat separately collected absorbent hygiene products (AHP) waste for recycling.

The core process is a thermal treatment in an autoclave, an horizontal cylindrical vessel where the AHP waste is sanitized and opened. The output solid stream is then shredded and separated through a mechanical process into the two AHP components: polypropylene and polyethylene plastics and cellulose fibres, which can be sent for recycling.

Applicability

This BEMP is broadly applicable as no particular geographical or technical barriers exist. However, some specific conditions can influence the technical and economic viability of this treatment solution:

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.3.   Common environmental performance indicators for municipal solid waste

In addition to the indicators set in the individual BEMPs on MSW, this section of the document defines environmental performance indicators that can be used to assess the performance of municipal solid waste management systems.

Each indicator presented in this section only assesses certain elements of the performance of the MSW management system. For a comprehensive understanding, the different indicators should be analysed together.

Indicators for the overall municipal solid waste management system

3.3.1.   MSW generation

This indicator measures the annual amount of total MSW (19) generated per resident (20). This indicator is useful to monitor the overall waste generation trends as well as the results of any effort to promote waste prevention.

This indicator takes into account all different MSW streams collected separately by all the different collection systems available in the territory considered (e.g. door-to-door, civic amenity sites, street containers). In areas where there is no detailed waste monitoring or where a part of the waste generated is not collected by the formal municipal waste collection system, figures on MSW generation could underestimate the real situation. Moreover, this indicator is affected by external factors that are not related to waste management in the relevant local area, such as rural/urban location, gross domestic product and consumption patterns, weather and significant presence of tourists/daily commuters.

3.3.2.   Amount of mixed MSW collected

This indicator measures the annual amount of mixed MSW collected per resident. This indicator is useful to monitor the MSW separate collection system and its capacity to drive MSW into the separately collected fractions sent for recycling. In fact, mixed waste, generally, undergoes less preferred treatment operations, according to the waste hierarchy, compared to separately collected fractions.

This indicator takes into account the waste collected as non-source separated mixed waste. It is affected not only by how much waste that should have been source separated has been delivered as mixed waste, but also by what are the waste fractions for which no separate collection system is in place. Therefore, the amount of mixed MSW vary significantly depending on the types of waste collection systems established, e.g. if biowaste is collected separately or not, which type of biowaste is admitted in the separately collected fraction. Moreover, this indicator is affected by external factors that are not related to waste management in the relevant local area, such as rural/urban location, gross domestic product and consumption patterns, weather and significant presence of tourists/daily commuters.

3.3.3.   MSW sent to energy recovery and/or disposal

This indicator measures the annual amount of MSW per resident that is treated by either incineration with energy recovery and/or disposal operations, such as landfilling or incineration without energy recovery. This indicator is useful to monitor the amount of MSW treated with less favourable options, compared to recycling, according to the waste hierarchy (i.e. energy recovery and/or disposal).

This indicator takes into account all flows of MSW, sent directly, as mixed waste, or after pre-treatment (e.g. Mechanical Biological Treatment), to energy recovery and/or disposal. This indicator includes also the flow of rejects from the sorting/recycling of the separately collected fractions that are not recycled but sent to energy recovery and/or disposal. In case information on the flow of rejects from the sorting/recycling of the separately collected fractions is not available, this indicator can be calculated partially, reporting only the amount of mixed waste sent to energy recovery and/or disposal. In such case, the local waste authority (or waste management company) clearly states the elements that are included and those that are not included in the calculation (24).

Finally, this indicator is affected by external factors that are not related to waste management in the relevant local area, such as rural/urban location, gross domestic product and consumption patterns, weather and significant presence of tourists/daily commuters.

3.3.4.   MSW sent to disposal

This indicator measures the annual amount of MSW per resident that is sent to disposal, such as incineration without energy recovery or landfill. This indicator is useful to monitor if the waste management of MSW has moved up the waste hierarchy: in fact, if waste sent to disposal decreases, more waste has either been prevented, prepared for reuse, recycled or sent to energy recovery.

This indicator takes into account all flows of MSW, sent directly, as mixed waste, or after pre-treatment (e.g. Mechanical Biological Treatment), to disposal. This indicator includes also the flow of rejects from the sorting/recycling of the separately collected fractions that are not recycled but sent to disposal. In case information on the flow of rejects from the sorting/recycling of the separately collected fractions is not available, this indicator can be calculated partially, reporting only the amount of mixed waste sent to disposal. In such case, the local waste authority (or waste management company) clearly states the elements that are included and those that are not included in the calculation.

Finally, this indicator is affected by external factors that are not related to waste management in the relevant local area, such as rural/urban location, gross domestic product and consumption patterns, weather and significant presence of tourists/daily commuters.

Waste stream specific indicators

3.3.5.   Capture rate of a specific waste stream

This indicator measures the share of the estimated generation of a specific waste fraction that is collected separately (e.g. plastic, metal, paper and cardboard, glass and co-mingled packagįng). This indicator is useful to monitor how efficient is a separate waste collection system in intercepting the recyclable fractions.

This indicator is calculated dividing the total amount collected of a separately collected waste stream by the total generation of the waste that was targeted by that separate collection, calculated thanks to the composition analysis of the mixed waste (25).

This indicator can be affected by the presence of a deposit refund scheme for some types of waste (e.g. plastic bottles) for which data at local level cannot be disaggregated. In this case, the actual capture rate would be higher than the one calculated, because the amounts of waste collected by the deposit refund scheme do not appear in the local waste statistics of separately collected waste fractions.

3.3.6.   Impurity rate of a specific waste stream

This indicator measures the amount of non-target materials in a specific separately collected waste stream. This indicator is useful to monitor how effective the separate waste collection is, by assessing the amount of misthrows in the recyclable fractions.

This indicator takes into account the amount of misthrows (resulting from wrong waste source separation and assessed by composition analysis of separately collected waste fractions), contained in the separately collected recyclables. The amount of impurities in separately collected recyclable fractions varies also according to the type of separate collection system in place, e.g. plastic bottles collected through deposit refund schemes tend to have very low impurities, while these are considerably higher for co-mingled light packaging.

3.3.7.   Biowaste in mixed waste

This indicator measures the annual amount of biowaste included in mixed waste per resident. This indicator is useful to monitor how much biowaste is not correctly sorted at the source and captured by a separate biowaste collection system or used by residents in home/community composting.

The amount of biowaste in mixed waste is calculated from the composition analysis of mixed waste. The amount of biowaste in mixed waste varies also according to the type of biowaste separate collection system in place, e.g. which type of biowaste is admitted in the separately collected fraction, whether home/community composting is available to residents.

3.4.   BEMPs for construction and demolition waste

BEMPs presented in this section deal with the management of construction and demolition waste (CDW).

3.4.1.   Integrated construction and demolition waste plans

It is BEMP for local authorities to develop and implement integrated CDW plans that:

Applicability

The formulation and implementation of local waste management plans for CDW is a commonly used instrument by regions and large municipalities.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.4.2.   Avoidance of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of construction and demolition waste

In the case of demolition or deconstruction as well as refurbishment of buildings, bridges and structures from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, there is a risk that CDW materials may be contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which prevent its recycling.

It is BEMP for waste authorities to introduce provisions in the CDW plan (see Section 3.4.1) that include:

Applicability

This BEMP is broadly applicable for waste authorities responsible for CDW. Small works, producing less than 1 tonne of CDW or affecting less than 10 m2 of the surface area of the building, can be excluded from the provisions on identifying and separating PCBs in the CDW plan.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.4.3.   Local schemes for proper management of waste asbestos removed by residents

It is BEMP for waste authorities and waste management companies to ensure the proper management of the small quantities of asbestos-containing construction and demolition waste removed from private buildings by residents without the intervention of a specialised company. To do so, they can provide:

Frontrunner local authorities go one step further and set a strategy for assessing the presence of asbestos in their territory, helping private owners plan proper action and keeping track of all asbestos in buildings even before it is removed.

Applicability

This BEMP is applicable only to certain cement-bonded asbestos (such as asbestos cement roofs, wall and ceiling cladding; asbestos down pipes and gutters, etc.) in good condition (no risk of powder dispersion) and in case of very small amounts. Cement-bonded asbestos at risk of powder dispersion, as well as other asbestos applications, especially those of lower density (or crumbly/flaky) such as insulating boards, lagging, or sprayed asbestos, are always required to be removed and disposed of by a specialist contractor.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.4.4.   Processing of waste plasterboard to foster recycling

It is BEMP for waste management companies processing waste plasterboard to recover gypsum. Processing of waste plasterboard for the recovery of gypsum usually consists of the following steps (for well-segregated waste plasterboard): reception, visual check and classification, separation of unsuitable materials (e.g. metals), (if required) grouping of the panels according to size, paper and gypsum separation (through a grinding and sieving process) and sieving of gypsum. Recovered gypsum can then be used (usually up to 25 % of the total content) for the production of new plasterboard.

Applicability

There are no technical barriers to the applicability of this BEMP. However, there are significant economic barriers: the recyclability of the waste plasterboard depends on the level of segregation at the site where it is generated (26) and poor segregation leads to cost-inefficient situations. Moreover, transport costs of waste plasterboard over long distances may also affect the economic viability.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.4.5.   Processing CDW for the production of recycled aggregates

It is BEMP for waste management companies treating CDW to recover concrete from CDW as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). This processing takes place in plants which usually consist of the following steps (for well-segregated CDW): reception, characterisation and identification of incoming CDW, (manual) preselection, screening of large materials, magnetic separation, screening for fine materials, crushing, screening and secondary crushing.

The recyclability of the inert elements of CDW depends on the level of segregation at the site where they are generated (27) and poor segregation leads to the processing of CDW being cost-inefficient.

Applicability

There is no specific limitation to the applicability of this BEMP as long as the CDW is well segregated in the different fractions at the construction sites.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.5.   BEMPs for healthcare waste

BEMPs presented in this section deal with the management of healthcare waste (HCW).

BEMPs for healthcare waste segregation

3.5.1.   Encouragement of healthcare waste segregation at healthcare facilities

There is a significant potential to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare waste (HCW) management, in particular by targeting better prevention, segregation and treatment of non-hazardous waste, with due consideration of safety. It is BEMP for HCW management companies to:

Better segregation of waste produced in healthcare facilities enables more recycling because it avoids that non-hazardous waste, including recyclables (e.g. printed paper, plastic bottles), is incorrectly put together with hazardous waste.

Applicability

There is no specific limitation to the applicability of this BEMP by HCW management companies. However, the commitment of healthcare facilities towards an improved HCW management plays a key role for the type of measures and success of the actions implemented.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

3.5.2.   Healthcare waste collection for households

This BEMP focuses on collection systems implemented by local authorities and/or waste management companies to collect hazardous HCW generated by households, specifically sharps and needles generated from treatments performed at home.

It is BEMP to adopt a separate HCW collection scheme for households that ensures safe and environmentally friendly HCW collection and management by:

Applicability

The BEMP is applicable to all local authorities and/or waste management companies.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

BEMPs for the treatment of healthcare waste

3.5.3.   Alternative treatments for healthcare waste

High-temperature incineration is the most common treatment method for healthcare waste (HCW) because of safety concerns; however, it has significant environmental impacts such as high energy use, natural resources depletion and emissions. There are alternative treatments that can also guarantee safety levels for waste streams of concern (e.g. infectious waste, anatomical waste, sharps and pharmaceutical waste) and they can achieve a better environmental performance than high-temperature incineration, e.g. thanks to reduced energy use or better resource efficiency (increasing the rate of recycling from HCW).

When using alternative treatments for HCW, it is BEMP to meet the following criteria:

Applicability

High-temperature incineration is still the most common treatment for HCW. Four main factors affect the applicability of alternative treatments: source segregation, proving the safety of alternative treatments in treating certain fractions of segregated waste, the optimum operating capacity for incineration and the national legal framework for HCW treatment.

Associated environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence

• 4. 

  RECOMMENDED SECTOR-SPECIFIC KEY ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The following table lists a selection of key environmental performance indicators for the waste management sector, together with the related benchmarks and reference to the relevant BEMPs. These are a subset of all the indicators mentioned in Section 3.

Table 4.1

Key environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence for the waste management sector

• (1) 

  The science for policy report is publicly available on the JRC website at the following address: http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/emas/documents/WasteManagementBEMP.pdf. The conclusions on best environmental management practices and their applicability as well as the identified environmental performance indicators and the benchmarks of excellence contained in this Sectoral Reference Document are based on the findings documented in the science for policy report. All the background information and technical details can be found there. The full reference of the science for policy report is: Dri M., Canfora P., Antonopoulos I. S., Gaudillat P., Best Environmental Management Practice for the Waste Management Sector, JRC Science for Policy Report, EUR 29136 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, ISBN 978-92-79-80361-1, doi:10.2760/50247, JRC111059.

• (2) 

  Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993 allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (OJ L 168, 10.7.1993, p. 1).

• (3) 

  Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) (OJ L 114, 24.4.2001, p. 1).

• (4) 

  According to Annex IV (B.f.) of the EMAS Regulation, the environmental statement shall contain ‘a summary of the data available on the environmental performance of the organisation with respect its significant environmental aspects. Reporting shall be on both the core environmental performance indicators and the specific environmental performance indicators as set out in Section C’. Annex IV – Section C.3 states that ‘each organisation shall also report annually on its performance relating to the significant direct and indirect environmental aspects and impacts that are related to its core business activities, that are measurable and verifiable, and that are not covered already by the core indicators. Reporting on those indicators shall be done in accordance with the requirements set in the introduction to this section. Where available, the organisation shall take account of sectoral reference documents as referred to in Article 46 to facilitate the identification of relevant sector specific indicators.’

• (5) 

  A detailed description of each of the best practices, with practical guidance on how to implement them, is available in the science for policy report published by the JRC and available on-line at the following address: http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/emas/documents/WasteManagementBEMP.pdf. The reader is invited to consult it if interested to learn more about some of the best practices described in this document.

• (6) 

  Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

• (7) 

  Directive 2010/75/EU.

• (8) 

  The waste hierarchy consists of the following steps: waste prevention, preparation for re-use, recycling, recovery and disposal.

• (9) 

  ISO 14044:2006: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines.

• (10) 

  For more information on the content of the Best Available Techniques Reference Documents and a full explanation of terms and acronyms, please refer to the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau website: http://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

• (11) 

  End-of-waste criteria were introduced by Article 6 of the Waste Framework Directive of December 2008 (2008/98/EC). More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/framework/end_of_waste.htm

• (12) 

  Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p 1). For more information on the content on the Landfill Directive and access to the full text, please refer to the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/landfill_index.htm

• (13) 

  The first two elements are not needed in PAYT schemes based on prepaid sacks.

• (14) 

  Data is usually available, based on estimations, surveys, how often the bin for recyclables is left out for collection, etc.

• (15) 

  In areas where different waste fractions are collected co-mingled (e.g. metal and plastic waste packaging) the co-mingled fraction is considered one fraction.

• (16) 

  Depending on the waste collection system in place (e.g. vehicles and/or pneumatic collection, type of vehicles) and the data available, more useful alternatives to this indicator can be: primary energy consumption per tonne of waste collected, cumulative energy demand per tonne of waste collected, GHG emissions per tonne of waste collected.

• (17) 

  This indicator can be calculated for the overall co-mingled packaging waste as well as by individual output stream, based on composition analysis of the co-mingled packaging waste processed.

• (18) 

  This indicator can be calculated for the overall mixed plastic packaging waste as well as by individual output stream, based on composition analysis of the mixed plastic packaging waste processed.

• (19) 

  In the calculation of this indicator and the ones in Sections 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4 and 3.3.7, the annual amount of total municipal solid waste generated can be substituted by the annual amount of total household waste generated, if data just for household waste is known.

• (20) 

  In the calculation of this indicator and the ones in Sections 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4 and 3.3.7, the number of residents can be substituted by the population equivalent where tourist presence is relevant. The population equivalent is calculated based on the presence of tourists over the period considered for the calculation.

• (21) 

  As reported by national authorities or by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat)

• (22) 

  The following fractions have been selected because they are commonly monitored in the EU by local waste authorities and waste management companies and they are generally the most relevant fractions (by weight) in MSW.

• (23) 

  As reported by National Authorities or by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat).

• (24) 

  For instance, benchmark b23 only refers to the amount of MSW collected as mixed waste and sent to energy recovery and/or disposal.

• (25) 

  As illustrative example, the capture rate for the separately collected fraction of waste glass is calculated as:

Where:

total glass waste generation = kg separately collected glass+ kg of glass in mixed waste

kg of glass in mixed waste = kg of total mixed waste* % of glass in mixed waste

% of glass in mixed waste is calculated from the composition analysis of the mixed waste.

• (26) 

  In some cases, segregation at the construction site may not be possible due to space constraints. In such situations, the waste plasterboard can be pretreated and segregated at different locations before being processed.

• (27) 

  In some cases, segregation at the construction site may not be possible due to space constraints. In such situations, the CDW can be pretreated and segregated at different locations before being processed for the production of recycled aggregates.

• (28) 

  EMAS core indicators are listed in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 (Section C.2).

• (29) 

  The numbers refer to the sections in this document where the relevant related BEMP is described or the indicator is presented.

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.