Waste management on new ways
2 At the beginning of the new millennium, Hungary has set her aim to create a waste management system, which fulfil the requirements of the modern age. The determination to carry out this new strategy was influenced by the accession to the European Union, Hungary has accepted the obligation to set the Union s Environmental Policy into force. To realise the necessary legal background, this generated several new tasks for the Hungarian economy, administration and also the general public. With the adoption and harmonisation of the Union s environmental directives, requirements have to be fulfilled which basically modified the practice of the waste management applied in the country. Foreseeing the extent of this task, the Hungarian Government in close co-operation with the Ministry being responsible for environment issues having the duty of solving the professional tasks has already started the preparation in the mid 90 s. Act 1995/LIII., on the General Rules of Environment Protection has generated a new, up-todate framework for the preparation of specific regulations on the individual areas of environmental protection together with the major stages of legal procedures. During the next step, the Hungarian Parliament established the basis of the product charge system, which sets the polluter pays principle into force for all waste flows derived from products, which due to their large quantity or hazardous nature, require enhanced monitoring. This created the basis of a producer responsibility system together with ensuring the necessary financial resources for the development of waste management infrastructure. As the result of these measures, the selective collection of industrial waste became more economical. The selective collection of municipal solid waste was also started in some regions of the country, based on the investments of infrastructure. In order to expand the waste management infrastructure, it is necessary to take further measures, which enable to drive on new ways the waste management of Hungary. These measures are as follows: I. Creating the basis of waste management planning II. Improving the consciousness of the municipalities and service providers in fulfilling their tasks III. Supporting the realisation of complex municipal waste management systems IV. Modifying the recovery system of wastes, to produce secondary raw materials in order to meet the requirements of EU V. Ensuring the support of the general public, creating the basis of environmental awareness VI. Ensuring the efficient use of the financial resources offered by the European Union together with the co-ordination of various supports
I. C reating the basis of waste management planning 3 The primary task of waste management plans is to support the aims of the waste management set in the National Environmental Protection Programme. The Hungarian system of waste management plans ensures the professionalism in the development of the waste management infrastructure; sets the necessary tasks and the way of their execution; emphasizes the role of the individual stages of planning, ensuring the validation of the subsidiarity principle. The Waste Management Act determines three stages of creating waste management plans: the Hungarian Waste Management Plan was prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Water, it was accepted by the Parliament in November 2002. the Regional Waste Management Plans were prepared by the environmental inspectorates, the plans were officially announced in November 2003. As a last stage of planning, the Municipalities prepare the Local Waste Management Plans in 2004. These plans are valid until 2008 and they will be revised in every second year. The significance of these plans is to determine all the professional requirements, which have to be taken into account by the initiators of the waste management investments. After the acceptance of these plans only those investments can be financed in Hungary, which are in concordance with the above mentioned Waste Management Plans. National Waste Management Plan Regional Waste Management Plans Local Waste Management Plans
The Hungarian Waste Management Plan 4 The Hungarian Waste Management Plan analyses the actual situation of the Hungarian waste management, determines the goals of the period between 2003 and 2008, evaluates the financial resources and the tools of economic control. The major tasks to be solved or managed by the implementation of the Hungarian Waste Management Plan are as follows: to reduce the high value of waste generation; to increase the recovery ratio of waste, it is too low for most waste types, to encourage economical material and energy use; to find a solution for the recovery of stored waste, its quantity is high; to minimise the currently high proportion of waste disposed by landfill; to improve the quality and safety of waste management, these are at present unsatisfactory, to reduce the degree of health and environmental risks; to eliminate gradually the sources of hazard and the contaminated sites, which resulted from the unsuitable waste disposal methods of the past decades; to promote the adherence to principles and regulations, and to strengthen the environmentally aware and law-abiding behaviour; to complete the system of regulations, which is at present deficient in certain areas, and to improve the efficiency of the application of instruments for attitude-forming and for professional guidance; to strengthen the personal, professional and institutional background for official lawenforcement; to improve the instruments of waste monitoring (data recording, supply of data, measurement control); to promote by market-conform economic regulations the solutions being beneficial in the long term, which are in accordance with the principle of sustainable development and, the construction of up-to-date, complex waste management system, having special regard to waste recovery; to strengthen the co-operation between state and the private sector, to support the local or local community initiatives, having special regard to selective waste collection and recovery; to increase the efficiency of education, training and attitude-forming activities.
5 The Hungarian Waste Management Plan outlines six professional programmes, determining also their financial needs: Programmes Needed investments between 2003 and 2008 (based on the prices of 2001, million HUF) 1. Industrial and other production waste 64 500 70 100 2. Municipal solid waste 126 900 131 000 3. Municipal liquid waste* 500 4. Inert/construction-demolition waste 10 800 12 200 5. Hazardous waste 100 900 102 700 6. Priority material and waste flows 38 600 40 800 Total 342 200 357 300 * The improvement of collected waste handling is implemented within the framework of the Hungarian Programme of Sewage Handling and Purification (with the planned budget of HUF 17.6-17.9 billion) The priority material and waste flows are as follows Packaging waste End-of-life vehicles Biodegradable waste Electronic waste Used oils Clinical waste Waste containing Polychlorinated Animal waste Biphenyls and Polychlorinated Terphenyls Pesticide waste and pesticide packaging Waste batteries and accumulators Construction and demolition Waste rubber tyres waste In the case of some of the waste flows mentioned above, the attached costs are included in other programmes. The Hungarian Waste Management Plan includes the necessary institutional development of the planned programmes in a separate chapter as well as on municipal and governmental level. The development of institutions is solely financed by the budget, this amounts to HUF 2,425-2,725 million. Regional and Local Waste Management Plans While the regional plans have been prepared for the seven statistical regions of Hungary, local plans have to be made by the municipalities or by the co-operation body of municipalities. The stages of plans were adjusted to the practice of the European Union, to enlighten the application for the possible subsidies. The role of the regional and local waste management plans are to ensure that the goals of the Hungarian Waste Management Plan are implemented according to local needs and possibilities. This makes it possible to ascertain that in waste management only such local initiatives should be born, which suit the environmental requirements adopted by Hungary.
II. Improving the consciousness of the municipalities and service providers in fulfilling their tasks 6 Tasks of municipalities, service providers are determined by the law. The enforcement of these legal requirements is controlled by the local administration i.e. notaries, regional administration offices, environmental inspectorates providing the professional supervision. The tasks of the municipalities are: On the one hand the municipal service has to be ensured. Waste management service has to be organised on their territory, its operation has to be maintained. The public area supervision authority has to be maintained, the tidiness of public area has to be ensured and all these tasks have to be regulated by the local order on waste management. On the other hand, the local waste management plans have to be prepared and waste management investment and development measures have to be taken in order to implement these plans. Decisions needed to meet the legal requirements on their own or as a member of municipal co-operations, determining the location of waste management establishments, revision of landfills, eliminating the illegal landfills on their territory. The waste management tasks of the service providers are as follows: Collecting the municipal waste from households in the manner determined by the order of the municipality, complying with the environmental regulations. Transport of waste to the waste handling site. Handling the waste and running the waste handling establishment. Ensuring the continuity of service. To prepare a detailed cost breakdown for the municipality.
Major deadlines determined by the law 7 Until 2003 all settlements had to organise their waste management service in order to collect the waste and handle it. From 30th June 2003 it is forbidden to dispose rubber tyres on landfill sites. Until 30th June 2003 the companies involved in waste management had to acquire a site certificate from the authority in charge. In 2004 the biodegradable fraction of the municipal solid waste disposed on landfill sites has to be reduced to the 75% of the waste generated in the base year. Until 2005 the selective waste collection has to be extended, reaching 40% of total population. It has to be reached till 2005 the 50% recovery rate of packaging waste. Until 2005 those equipment of waste incinerators, which do not meet the environmental requirements has to be renewed, otherwise the incinerator has to be closed. From 2006 it will be forbidden to landfill shredded rubber tyres. In 2007 the biodegradable fraction of the municipal solid waste disposed on landfill sites has to be reduced to the 50% of the waste generated in the base year. By 2008 60% of the country s total population has to be involved in selective waste collection. By 2008 it has to be reached that the fraction of waste disposed on landfill sites, should be reduced to 75 %, compared to the present amount, so the 83% landfill ratio should be lowered to 60%. By 2008 the recovery rate of the construction waste has to be increased to 50%. Until 2009 all landfill sites should be closed, which do not meet the environmental requirements. In 2014 the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste disposed on landfill sites, has to be reduced to the 35% of the waste generated in the base year.
8 III. S upporting the investments of complex municipal waste management system In Hungary with the beginning of the applications for the ISPA pre-accession fund, the establishment of complex waste management systems has started. 12 waste management ISPA projects have been accepted, these involved 3.6 million inhabitants of 1247 municipalities. The aim was to provide up-to-date waste management in all settlements of the country. In order to achieve this, after the closing of ISPA funding, further investments are planned for the 2004-2006 period using the financial resources of the Cohesion Fund. Costs of Complex Waste Management Plans (million Euro) The appearance of complex waste management system could be recognised as a milestone in the Hungarian waste management for two reasons: On the one hand, they indicate the improvement in the service by enabling the application of the best available techniques; On the other hand, it is a possibility to create a system, which meets environmental requirements together with enabling cost efficiency. * planned budget
The parts of the complex municipal waste management systems 9 1. The organisation of regional waste handling On the contrary to the present Hungarian practice where almost all municipalities have their own landfill sites and, the modern establishments of waste management are missing it is essential to create complex waste management systems, including the establishment of regional waste handling centres. With this the most expensive part of the investment, the procedure of disposal, i.e. the landfill activity can be carried out in a central establishment and the cost efficient transport of waste can be managed by a system of waste transport sites. The most important requirement for creating regional waste collection is to provide suitable vehicles, which involve the procurement of garbage trucks ensuring dust free waste collection together with container trucks, transporting the waste from the waste collection sites to the waste handling centres. 2. Introducing separate waste collection systems Within the complex waste management system selective collection is introduced: Waste paper, plastic, glass and other waste accumulated on collection isles and the waste of curbside collection is transported to sorting facilities where after its separation and preparation to meet the demands of industry, the waste is transferred to a recovery plant. The separately collected bio and green waste is transported to composting sites where the produced compost, according to its quality, can be used as low grade fertiliser or for various land recultivation purposes.
10 3. Central waste handling establishments According to the Hungarian Waste Management Plan maximum of 100 landfill sites with engineered insulation system will be established. Further, it is necessary to erect maximum of 6 one in all statistical regions of the country energy recovery centres. Among the planned waste management programmes such initiative also can be found, which involves the mechanical separation of the different waste fractions. The mechanical treatment plants are to be built near the landfill sites. With this it can be ensured the separation and dry-stabilisation of the biodegradable waste fraction, the recycling of metal waste and the separation of the energetically valuable light fraction and the difficult-to-burn heavy fraction. 4. Recultivation of closed landfills Within the complex waste management programmes, funds have to be raised to recultivate the closed landfills, owned by municipalities. The PHARE 99 landfill information study of 2002, indicated 2000 landfills to be recultivated in the country. The recultivation activity within the complex waste management programmes can significantly contribute to the improvement of Hungary s environmental status. 5. Public awareness Last but not least, significant resources of the complex waste management programmes are planned to ensure the public acceptance of the establishments to be built and creating the bases for their use in broader range.
IV. Rearrange the recycling system of secondary raw materials in order to meet EU requirements In the mid of 90 s the product charge system ensured the needed resources for the implementation of the infrastructure of recycling and selective collection. In the country such a system was introduced, which made possible to organise selective collection of waste packaging, refrigerators, rubber tyres, batteries and accumulators. In 2002 the Ministry of Environment and Water has started to rearrange this system. The aim of the change was that, by the time Hungary accesses to the European Union, the support of waste recycling should meet in every aspect the requirements of the Union. In the case of packaging waste, the licence fee system was introduced on 1st January 2003. Within this scheme the waste producers and traders in order to meet their responsibilities, establish an independent body. This takes over their responsibility in exchange for paying a fee according to conditions laid down in a contract; organises and co-ordinates the collection, recovery or disposal of all waste flows, covered by its activity. The system is to be planned to extend further to other waste fractions (e.g. electronic waste, end-of-life vehicles). With the creation of the licence fee system the Ministry of Environment and Water plans to implement the producer s responsibility principle in Hungary. According the producer s responsibility principle, the producer of waste is obliged to plan the recovery and disposal of the wastes produced during the fabrication, the intended use of the product and at last, the used up product. It is also the obligation of the producer to provide contribution to the costs of handling these wastes. 11
V. W inning general public support, creating the basis for the spreading of environmental awareness 12 Professionalism and provision of sources are necessary conditions for the success of waste management investments, but these are not enough. It is also very important for local communities to understand and accept the causes of these investments and to use the established infrastructure. The change of the previous waste management practice can only turn into a reality, if an alteration can be achieved in the prejudgement of people in connection with waste. The Ministry of Environment and Water taking into consideration the public acceptance of environmental investments in the case of all waste management programmes, it takes enormous efforts to involve the general public and to disseminate information on a broad scale in connection with the investment. In order to achieve this aim, the following measures were taken: An obligatory element of the environmental licensing is the detailed information of the involved inhabitants and the acceptance of their valuable proposals. The public acceptance is an important part of the complex waste management investments, financed by the Cohesion Fund. In order to do this, the programmes have separate PR budgets. The Ministry of Environment spends further resources on the dissemination of informative brochures and supports education and training programmes in connection with waste management. Key target groups of the waste management communication are: Local decision makers (municipalities), because their responsibility is to determine which waste management initiative should be implemented. Children, because they are the best audience for adopting environmental centred thinking. Environmental protection plays a significant role in the public education, this is supported by the Ministry by all possible assets.
VI. Ensuring the efficient use of the financial resources offered by the European Union together with co-ordination the various forms of supports 13 In all aspects, waste management belongs to the supported areas of the EU. Even before the accession, programmes were launched to ensure the efficient use of the subsidy budgets. Using the results and experiences of the pre-accession funds Hungary is entitled for receiving pre-accession funds these could be used through successful applications since the mid of 90 s. Considerable amount of practical experience has been gained through the application of PHARE and ISPA funds concerning waste management, this can be used in the process of applying regional subsidy. In order to keep the achievements of the pre-accession funds, the Hungarian Government has made a summary about the experiences of these funds. The necessary measures were taken to ensure that, the programmes launched by ISPA financing should be further financed by the Cohesion Fund. Cohesion Fund The Cohesion Fund helps to support with a maximum of 85 % non-repayable resources the complex municipal waste management investments in supporting the implementation of programmes. The Hungarian Government has made two important decisions in connection with the support of the Cohesion Fund: Taken into account the financial situation of the Hungarian municipalities, the central budget extended the non-repayable subsidy to 90 % of total investment, so only 10 % has to be financed by the municipalities. The budget of 2004 has separate funding for fulfilling the payment obligation made by the Government. This system of financing has a two fold aim: Despite the poor financing situation it makes possible the start of environmental investments for the municipalities, thus only 10 % own financing is needed. The role of the municipality financing is not to initiate irresponsible investments, thus the municipalities also have to contribute financially to the implementation. In April 2003 the environmental chapter of the Strategy of the Cohesion Fund has been accepted for the period of 2004-2006. This contains the priorities of the waste management investments together with naming the supported programmes, which on condition of their preparedness may apply at the European Union for support till 2006.
14 Structural Funds In order to use the sources of the Structural Funds, the National Development Plan has been accepted, one of its chapter, dealing with environmental issues determines waste management as a field to be supported. The specific areas for which subsidy can be gained, are involved in the operative programmes of the Structural Fund made according to the priorities of the National Development Plan. In order to implement efficiently the Environment and Infrastructure Operative Programme, prepared with the contribution of the Ministry of Environment and Water, the following measures were taken: The Environment and Infrastructure Operative Programme serves rather as a complementary financing source for waste management investments beside the resources of the Cohesion Fund, which finances the establishment of complex municipal waste management systems. This means that the Structural Fund provides financing for the handling of construction and demolition waste, animal and medical waste, together with the support of the public awareness in connection with waste management and especially with selective waste collection. In order to ensure the suitable quality of the applications for the Structural Fund, the Hungarian Government elaborated the system of the Application Preparing Fund. This means that the Government contributes to the possible implementation of applications worth to support by financing the costs of experts, who help to prepare the application. Other possible EU resources As the protection of environment, including waste management is of primary concern of the Union, other forms of support can also be gained to implement the Hungarian initiatives. Hungary has become a member of the LIFE programme even before the accession to the EU. As a part of the environmental programmes concerning sustainable development, the waste management issues can also be funded. The Interreg programme supports the cross-border initiatives also in the field of environment protection. With the Hungarian accession the country becomes the eastern border of the Union, so Interreg can be a useful resource for financing waste management thus, in many cases the problems can only be solved in close co-operation with the neighbouring countries.
15 Support possibilities provided by the Ministry of Environment and Water In addition to the subsidies of the European Union, the Government also provides Hungarian financing possibilities to develop the waste management. In 2002 a strategic decision was made to unite the separate control of the fields of environment protection and the water, this also resulted in the integration of the previous subsidy systems. The target of the programme of the Ministry is to contribute financially the implementation of important environmental investments, which are not financed by EU resources. Within the programme, in the field of waste management the following sub-programmes, developments may receive support in case of successful application: waste management planning and activities being in connection with this task, collection of abandoned waste, handling of green waste, organizing the selective waste collection, closure and recultivation of landfills, prevention and recovery of waste, taking into consideration especially the priority waste flows, included in the Hungarian Waste Management Plan.
Ministry of Environment and Water Address: 1011 Budapest, Fő utca 44-50. Mailing address: 1394 Budapest Pf. 351 Public information service: Tel.: (+36-1) 201-2764 (free of charge) Green phone constancy service: Tel.: 06-60/401-111 (free green line) Created by: