Page 8 - Waste-to-Energy in the Danube Strategy Region. Challenges and Prospects

1.1 WtE in a European context

As commonly acknowledged in literature dealing with this topic in a European context (Malek

2012, Sommer and Ragossnig 2011, Wolf Theiss 2016), initiatives and legislation at the EU level
are of significance. This can be said for both the EU members and non-members within the DSR,

given that those countries in the latter group are either EU applicants or members of other groups

such as the Energy Community. As EU applicants, Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), Montenegro and
Serbia all face significant impetus to bring national legislation in line with EU legislation as part of

the accession and application process. The two other non-EU members, Moldova and Ukraine, are

part of broader European initiatives such as the Energy Community and the EU’s European

Neighbourhood Policy. As part of the latter, the EU has association agreements with both
countries. These agreements deal with such matters as waste management in an effort to support

efforts to bring national legislation and practice in line with the rest of the EU (European

Commission [EC] 2018a, 2018b). Thus it is worth reflecting on EU legislation and initiatives relevant

for WtE.
The EU waste acquis is comprised of several directives. Those of most relevance to WtE are

the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC), and the Waste

Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). First and foremost, Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste (WFD)

stipulates proper waste management and disposal practices to be followed by all Member States
as well as states intending to join the EU. Furthermore, it provides formal definitions of the various

waste types and management and disposal practices. Together with the Waste Incineration

Directive, it also stipulates criteria according to which the processes of recovery and disposal may

be distinguished. For example, in order to be considered a recovery operation waste incineration
must meet certain efficiency criteria. For plants in operation or permitted before 2009, the

benchmark is 60% efficiency; for newer plants it is 65% (EC 2016). If this criteria is met, the

operation is classified as R1 - incineration with energy recovery; if not, it is classified as D10 –

incineration without energy recovery. Nevertheless, typically all incineration operations recover
energy, whether in the form of electricity or heat (Saveyn et al. 2016).

Project co-funded by the European Union
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