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Waste management

Carbage is something we come into contact with every day – it is something all of us produce. In order to maintain the value of our living environment and to ensure that it is environmentally friendly, it is vital that we bring waste management into compliance with current requirements.

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Waste management is an issue that the Ministry of the Environment has paid special attention to over the last three years. New legislation has been developed, as has the network of waste management centres around the country. The new Waste Act came into force on 1 May 2004, and a new Packaging Act was introduced exactly one month later. These Acts and their attendant regulations were adopted from European Union legislation on waste.

The special focus between 2003 and 2006 was one the implementation of measures designed to introduce new waste-based legislation, including the promotion of recycling and reuse and the establishment of new waste management centres meeting the latest environmental requirements. Another issue was implementing producer's responsibility on certain waste flows such as those from packaging, waste electric and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles and end-of-life tires, waste batteries and accumulators.

The number of waste centres not meeting requirements has decreased significantly in recent years. While only three of the 59 dumps and other waste management facilities that were operating at the beginning of 2003 met all of the requirements, eight of the 30 operating at the end of 2006 were in full compliance. Work has begun on three new modern regional household waste centres since 2004, in Uikala, Tallinn and Paikre. Construction of these centres has seen the development of complex waste management, with sorting of waste and composting of biodegradable materials in addition to ordinary landfill. A large number of old landfills and centres that did not meet requirements have been closed (the largest of these are Pääsküla landfill in Tallinn, Kotinuka landfill in Jõhvi and the landfill of Pärnu). Particularly wide-ranging work has been undertaken as well to rehabilitate the radioactive waste storage facility in Sillamäe. Moreover, 15 waste management stations have been built for the collection and distribution of waste to recycling centres or landfill. Several more are currently under construction or in the planning phase. More than 750 million kroons was invested in the development and organisation of waste management between 2003 and 2006, from a number of sources, including the Environmental Investment Centre, the state budget, the European Union and project developers themselves.

There has been a continuous increase in the sorted collection of waste, and the proportion of waste delivered to dumps for landfill has decreased. Whereas in 2000 almost all household waste was used for landfill, that figure has now fallen to two-thirds. The remainder is recycled or exported for reuse elsewhere.

A national system for the collection of dangerous waste has also been implemented. Larger centres have their own collection points, where anybody can deposit their dangerous household waste (such as light bulbs, old batteries, chemicals, oil and medicines). At the beginning of 2003 there were 41 companies licensed to treat dangerous waste in Estonia, but since then that number has risen to 107, with 27 of them being licensed demolition teams (2006).

2005 was the year of initiation of the national system of collection and recycling of packaging waste. Work in this area was begun by three packaging material recycling groups accredited by the Ministry of the Environment – the non-profit organisations Eesti Taaskasutusorganisatsioon and Eesti Pakendiringlus, and the company OÜ Eesti Pandipakend – to whom packaging companies could hand over packaging and packaging waste collection and recycling duties. In order to achieve the aims of the Packaging Act, a returns system was implemented as an economic measure on 1 May 2005 as part of which refunds would be issued on glass and plastic bottles and tin cans for beer, low-ethanol alcoholic drinks and soft drinks. 1 July 2005 saw the adoption of packaging excise on all types of sales packaging, not just alcoholic and soft drinks, if not recycled in the amount set out in legislation. A European Union-funded twinning project, Development of a collection and recycling system for packaging and packaging waste in Estonia, was carried out in association with the Austrian Environmental Agency between 2005 and 2006. The project focused on setting strategic goals in this area and developing an information system (a packaging register). A training programme for officials connected to the field was held, which mainly looked at supervision and European reporting. Experts from Austria’s Environmental Agency, Ministry of the Environment and ARA recycling organisation and from Vienna City Government shared their experiences with their local colleagues. A media campaign entitled Keep packaging moving was also launched in the course of the project. The primary focus was on raising the awareness of local government officials, but a related website was also established for both Estonian and Russian speakers (www.taaratark.ee) and an educational film was made for school students.

The projects that have been carried out with EU funding are as follow:

The Pärnu waste management project, 2004-2009. The aim of the project is to undertake preparatory work for the closure of the old Rääma waste centre and the construction of a new centre and sorting station at Paikuse that meets all of the requirements of the EU directive.

Closure of ash field #2 in Narva, 2005-2008. The aim of the project is to close ash field #2 at Narva Power Station in accordance with the requirements of the EU directive.

Tallinn waste management phase II: closure of the Pääsküla waste centre, 2004-2008. The aim of the project is to close the Pääsküla waste centre in accordance with the requirements of the EU directive.