Future integration of ELFM in the Landfill Directive and support for the competency network on ELFM

29.6.2018

Question for written answer E-003580-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Hilde Vautmans (ALDE)

In March 2017, the European Parliament voted to integrate enhanced landfill mining (ELFM) into EU legislation. Article 5 of the Waste Package adopted by Parliament stated: ‘The Commission shall further examine the feasibility of proposing a regulatory framework for enhanced landfill mining so as to permit the retrieval of secondary raw materials that are present in existing landfills. By 31 December 2025 Member States shall map existing landfills and indicate their potential for enhanced landfill mining and share information’.

In spite of Parliament’s support for the ELFM concept, the amendment was later blocked by the Council. The Commission has nevertheless been quite supportive of the ELFM concept. In 2018, the Commission helped organise the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials OG workshop on ‘Enhanced Landfill mining for critical raw materials’.

1. Can the Commission state its position on what this means for the future integration of ELFM into the Landfill Directive?

2. Would the Commission support the establishment of a multi-stakeholder competency network on ELFM, which would include, alongside experts from industry, academia and civil society, MEPs and DG GROW/ENV affiliates? Such a network could investigate the barriers to and opportunities for ELFM scenarios and be organised in a similar way to the European Rare Earths Competency network (ERECON).