Transparency when outsourcing waste incineration services
30.5.2023
Question for written answer E-001718/2023
to the Commission
Rule 138
Rosa D'Amato (Verts/ALE)
Official notices are being widely disseminated to inform the public about the construction of ‘waste-to-energy plants’ or ‘incineration plants’. The notices specify that these types of plant serve to ‘close the waste cycle’.
For example, the Region of Sicily has published a call for tenders ‘to award a contract for the design, construction and subsequent management [of] up to two incinerators for energy recovery’.
The city of Rome has published a call for tenders for ‘a waste-to-energy plant with R1 status’.
This definition is not included among the terms used to describe the treatment of municipal waste either in Directives (EU) 2018/849, 2018/850, 2018/851 and 2018/852 or in Regulation (EU) 2021/241.
In light of the above, can the Commission say:
- 1)Which directives apply to these plants and what rules do they need to comply with, in particular with regard to Article 5a(1)(c) of Directive 1999/31/EC?
- 2)In light of the EFSA’s new guidance on the effects of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, as well as on other chemical substances classified as carcinogen categories 1 and 2, must the potential health impact of this type of plant be included in the environmental impact assessment, irrespective of the thermal energy output, the surrounding environment and the population affected?
Submitted: 30.5.2023