The organisers were very pleased with the highly interactive character of the event and the panel discussions, as well as the high-level input we received from all sides of the quadruple helix.
Although the need for a paradigm shift from a classic concept of eternal (landfill) monitoring towards a dynamic, long-term landfill management and mining strategy was shared by almost all participants of the Second Seminar, it became clear that the current EU Policies do not accommodate this shift in any way (yet).
First of all, the Landfill Directive does not have anything to say on the fate of Europe’s historic landfills, which predate the Landfill Directive (1999) and which form the majority (> 90%) of Europe’s 500,000 landfills.
Secondly, even for the minority of Europe’s landfills for which the Landfill Directive was created, serious flaws were exposed. The (revised) Landfill Directive is still based on a static view on (sanitary) landfills and does not have an answer for the long-term liabilities, as aftercare funds are underfunded, making any kind of future remediation/mining activity less attractive.
On the other hand, new opportunities, such as the interim use and integrated revitalisation of landfills and their surfaces, are basically ignored. Such interim uses (solar parks, golf courses, nature parks…) could, however, generate revenues for aftercare, remediation and/or mining activities in the longer term.
More information can be found here.
Picture - ©2018 EU/EP
