Environment and sustainability / / September 10th 2018

End of the consultation period for the draft Royal Decree regulating the disposal of waste in landfills

The new Royal Decree will incorporate the strategic lines of the EU action plan for the Circular Economy and its implementing measures (2018).

August 31, 2018 marked the end of the public consultation period launched by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition on the draft Royal Decree regulating the disposal of waste in landfills to replace Royal Decree 1481/2001.

The new legislation aims to transpose Directive (EU) 2018/850 of 30 May 2018, amending Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, into Spanish law and pursues the following objectives:

To set a target of reducing landfill and recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035.
To restrict as far as possible (prohibit) landfilling of waste from separate collection systems (plastics, metals, glass, paper and bio-waste).
To mitigate the unwanted environmental effects linked to landfill of the organic fraction of waste.
To ensure reliable and flexible mechanisms are in place to collect and send information on the landfill of waste.
To ensure that the disposal of waste in landfills does not endanger human health or the environment.