Developing sustainable landfill practices

Landfills are of particular concern for public health and the environment as they have the potential, if not properly managed, to create air emissions and odours, pollute soil and water and contaminate the groundwater.

EU Member States agreed a Common Position on the draft Landfill Directive at the European Council in March 1998. The draft will shortly pass to the European Parliament for its Second Reading, before going back to the Council for discussion and final agreement some time next year. It is expected the Directive will come into force in 2001, two years after it is adopted.

Less Waste: More Value, the UK Government's consultation paper on the waste strategy for England and Wales, was published in June 1998; A Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland was issued in June 1998, and the draft National Waste Strategy for Scotland: A Blueprint for Progress 1997-2001, published by SEPA in March 1997.