COMBATTING WASTE CRIME

The Waste Framework Directive further requires that one or several waste management plans set out the steps that must be taken to best ensure waste treatment in line with the above-mentioned waste hierarchy (Article 28). National waste management programmes must be established in an attempt “to break the link between economic growth and the environmental impact associated with the generation of waste” through the adoption of the Member States’ waste management objectives [Article 29 (1) and (2)].

While Member States enjoy a measure of discretion as to the territorial basis which they consider appropriate to achieve national self-sufficiency in terms of waste disposal capacity, each local authority having its own waste management plan must, in principle, take appropriate steps to ensure that its own waste is collected, treated and disposed of close to the place where it is produced (Case C-297/08 Commission v Italy, § 68). In Case C-642/18 Commission v Spain, the CJEU ruled that the obligation to evaluate and, where necessary, to revise the waste management plans could arise only on the date of expiry of the deadline for transposition of that directive (12 December 2010) and consequently the deadline to fulfil this obligation expired 6 years later (12 December 2016).

Waste prevention programmes to be established in the Member States must set out the waste prevention objectives while describing existing prevention measures or measures which could be adopted with respect to the generation of waste (Article 29), the design, production and distribution of products or their consumption and use (Annex IV).