Waste

Legal definition

The Convention of Basle on the control of the transborder movements of dangerous waste defines waste as substances or objects that one eliminates, which one for eliminating or that one is held to eliminate under the terms of the provisions of the national right .

The European Union gives a similar definition of it: any substance or any object, whose holder demolishes himself or of which it with the intention or the obligation to demolish itself (Directive of April 5th, 2006 relating to waste), just as the French right ( any residue of a production process, of transformation or use, any substance, material, produced or more generally any given up personal property or than its holder intend for the abandonment , Code of the environment, Article L-541-1) or Swiss right ( movable things whose holder demolishes himself or whose elimination is ordered by the public interest , Federal law on the environmental protection of October 7th, 1983).

" Is famous abandonment any act tending, under cover of a transfer on a purely free or expensive basis, to withdraw its author from the legislative and lawful regulations. Article L 541-3 of the Code of the environment. According to the cases, one distinguishes waste according to their origin: household waste or industrial waste or according to their nature (dangerous, nondangerous, inert…). Waste is indexed in a " nomenclature" , which appears in appendix II of the decree of April 18th, 2002 relating to the classification of waste. Article L 541-1 of the Code of the environment. Decree n° 2002-540 of April 18th, 2002 relating to the classification of waste, OJ of April 20th, 2002. "

Waste is thus qualified in a primarily subjective way, where the act or the intention of the holder to demolish themselves/eliminate/give up imports more than to know if the object became unsuitable with use, lost any economic value or presents a danger to the environment.

From this point of view, the exhaust fumes, or it lead shot of hunting lost in the Environnement are waste. Since the beginning of XXIe century, in France and in the European Union, nonultimate waste must be recovered in Déchetterie, sorted by Recycling, and treated or recycled, possibly within the framework of steps of écomanagement (ISO 14001). They can be the subject of a écotaxe. The éco-design theoretically aims reducing upstream volume and the Toxicité of waste, or at facilitating their re-use or recycling.

Classification

One distinguishes mainly four types of waste :

waste Biodegradable S or Compost whitebaits (green Residues, muds of purification of water, remainders food…), which is assimilated in first approach to the biomass. This waste at least to some extent is destroyed naturally, more or less quickly, in general by the bacteria, mushrooms and other micro-organisms and/or by chemical reactions (oxidation, mineralization), leaving breakdown products identical or close to those which one can find in nature, sometimes nevertheless contaminated by residues of pesticides, metals, dioxanes, etc, according to their origin. They can be revalorized by various dies (Bioénergie, Biocarburant S, Compostage/Amendement S Engrais…).
waste which can be recycled (construction materials, metals, plastics): these materials can be re-used such as they are (via recycleries or Ressourcesries) in other fields or recycled: For example, metals are remelted and reinstated in new parts, the plastics are chopped and are used of stuffing or fuel…
the ultimate waste which “ is not likely any more to be treated under the technical requirements and economic of the moment ”. Them-only should still be able to be put in discharge (since July 1st 2002 in France), after Inertage if necessary, for most dangerous.
the special waste and special industrial Waste (SAY), unlike the banal Déchet can be included in the category of the dangerous waste, to which the toxic waste and the Radioactive waste belong which must be the subject of a completely particular treatment because of their particular harmfulness related to the Radioactivité. Among the Nuclear waste, one distinguishes the ultimate radioactive waste which “ is not likely any more to be treated under the technical requirements and economic of the moment ”. The Radioactive waste because of their particular harmfulness related to the Radioactivity. One also classifies them according to their lifespan (of activity).

Particular cases

They require a private individuals treatment. They are for example the

hospital waste and veterinary waste (Déchets of activities of care at the infectious and comparable risks DASRIA),
agricultural waste,
military waste,
waste piles and batteries, toners, waste electronic (DEEE), etc

There exists also a category of waste particularly difficult to often manage and follow, without person in charge identified known as Toxic waste in dispersed quantities (DTQD).

To also note that waste of the past, without persons in charge with the eyes of the law is badly taken into account. It is the case of the immersed Munitions, the not-exploded Munitions, or of the Gaz to greenhouse effect emitted by the planes, not taken into account by the Protocole of Kyoto

The principle Pollutant-payer tends to be essential in Europe, with for consequence the requirement made near the producer of a waste contribute to the treatment of this last.

One can note that waste is the only goods for which the money flow follows sometimes the flow of matter: for the other goods, the person who dispatches the goods receives money, whereas with waste it pays.

Classification

In France, the statutory text of reference is the decree n°2002-540 April 18th 2002 relating to the classification of waste. All waste is identified by a code with six digits. The first two figures indicate the category of origin, the two following the intermediate regrouping and the two last the designation of waste. An asterisk (*) is added to distinguish dangerous waste.

In the treatment of solid waste, there are characteristics very specific to waste which is determining for this treatment:

composition (standard and many different fractions),
granulometry,
moisture,
presence of fine particles,
conditioning.

The case of the emergent countries

The phenomenon of rural migration and periurbanisation strongly increased there the difficulty of waste collection and processing. The recovery of metals, fibers or waste food is done by the people not trained with the control of the risks related with waste.

Another serious problem is that of export towards countries poor of toxic waste and/or dangerous at ends of treatment or setting in discharge (thermometers with mercury in India, ships to be dismantled, radioactive waste or toxic, etc)

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

Fight association against the pollution of the environment by waste
Information and technical dossiers on waste
Search engine European of the Waste Processing
Swiss Dechets.ch Platform of information on waste

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