Incineration of waste

The Conciliation Committee reached agreement on a joint text for the directive following the provisional agreement at trialogue level on 12 July 2000. The main elements of the agreement were: (a) a compromise regarding the scope of the directive: agreeing on exemptions had been one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations. Parliament wanted to limit seven exemptions as far as possible and provide for them to be clearly defined in order to avoid any ambiguity in the directive's future application. It was agreed to limit the exclusion of plants treating vegetable waste from food processing to those where the heat generated is recovered. Parliament also secured an exemption for fibrous waste from virgin pulp production and from paper produced from pulp if it is co-incinerated. A compromise text was also agreed concerning exemptions for radioactive waste and animal carcasses; (b) much stricter NOx-emission limit values (500mg/m3) for all new co-incineration plants; (c) improved access to information for the public: despite considerable resistance from Council, it was agreed that all incineration plants which incinerate more than two tonnes of waste per hour must publish an annual report including information on the plant's emissions. All smaller plants have to be included in a list which will be made available to the public. �