B3.7.5 Incineration Directive [2000/76/EC]

Directive 2000/76/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste.

The purpose of this Directive is to prevent (or reduce) the adverse effects of the incineration of waste to the environment.

Requirements of the Directive include:

All incineration or co-incineration plants must be authorised.
Operators of incineration or co-incineration plants must obtain information on the generating processes, physical and chemical composition and hazardous characteristics of waste before accepting hazardous waste.
All plants must keep the incineration or co-incineration gases at a temperature of at least 850°C for at least two seconds, in order to guarantee complete waste combustion.
The heat generated by the incineration process must be put to good use as far as possible.
Compliance with plant emissions limit values relating to:
- Heavy metals.
- Dioxins and furans.
- Carbon Monoxide (CO).
- Dust.
- Total Organic Carbon (TOC).
- Hydrogen Chloride (HCl).
- Hydrogen Fluoride (HF).
- Sulphur Dioxide (SO2).
- Nitrogen Monoxide (No).
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).
Air emission must be monitored to ensure compliance.
All discharges of effluents caused by exhaust-gas clean-up must be authorised.
Incineration residues must be reduced to a minimum and recycled where possible.