Status of Waste Management Obligations under the Association Agreement

Status of Waste Management Obligations under the Association Agreement

Solid waste management is an increasing environmental and financial issue in all developing countries, including Georgia.

The bodies responsible for solid waste management have made many steps in the past several years. In 2012, Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia, Ltd (SWMCG) was set up for the management of solid household waste. The company is managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia and is a 100% state-owned company. The company regulates municipal landfills on the territory of Georgia, except for within the Tbilisi and Adjara Autonomous Republic. Currently, the company manages 53 of 56 municipal landfills.

Since 2014, when Georgia signed the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union, the country has made significant moves in waste management in an effort to improve the sector.

Under the AA, the country took responsibility for the requirements of specific articles of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste, Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 and Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries.

It should be noted that under the AA document, national law should first be adopted regarding each directive and the competent body or bodies must be identified.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia has been identified as a competent body in the waste management sphere. It will be responsible for the development and implementation of a unified state policy of waste management. The development of legislation, national strategies, and action plans, as well as the state control over waste management issues, are also among the Ministry’s responsibilities.

 Description of Directives

 Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste

The key aim of the Directive is to make any waste management activity harmless for the environment and human health. The Directive provides a definition of terms, the basis for waste management policy and law, and a five-step management hierarchy. Moreover, it defines waste management principles, for example, the “polluter pays” principle, whereby the original waste producer must pay for the cost of waste management.

Furthermore, waste management plans are to be developed and data is to be collected on the amount and content of generated waste.

Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of  waste as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003

The Landfill Directive defines different categories of waste and their disposal operations. Specifically, it introduces three categories of landfills: for hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, and inert waste.

The Landfill Directive defines obligations related to the construction, operation, closure, and aftercare of landfills. It also calls for reducing the quantity of landfill waste through separation or separated collection and the processing and recycling of different types of materials, for example, plastic, paper, metal, and glass.

Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries

According to the Directive, mining operators and entrepreneurs are required to develop waste management plans. Competent authority has to collect information about the operations of mining waste facilities, including their identification and classification. A system of permits, inspection, and financial guarantees for mining industry operators must be established with defined procedures for the treatment, management, and monitoring of of excavation voids.  This includes the development of closure and after closure procedures of existing sites, and the description and inventory of closed mining waste facilities.

Under AA requirements, the government of Georgia pledged to gradually bring its legislation closer to that of the EU within a certain period.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources protection has received donor support to meet its commitments under the Directive on the management of waste from extractive industries. It will start drawing up a bill for this in October 2017.

Action on the Directive 2008/98/EC on waste and Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, the elaboration and adoption of the Waste Management Code, effective since 15 January 2015, and respective bylaws in line with the Directives all compose a significant move forward. Moreover, in 2016, the government approved the National Waste Management Strategy for 2016-2030 and National Action Plan for 2016-2020.

The Waste Management Code defines the waste management hierarchy, which includes waste prevention, reuse, and recycling, for example, the production of plastic products from waste plastic materials or paper from waste paper. It also defines energy recovery, for example, using heat released from burning waste, and the final disposal of remaining waste in a landfill without posing any risk to the environment. Basic principles, landfill categories, and requirements to be met are all elaborated, in particular the operation of landfills are to be brought in line with European standards, along with competencies and general obligations of state agencies. Stricter sanctions and fines were introduced for legal violations, for example, the illegal disposal of up to 2 kg of litter shall be subject to an 80 GEL fine and throwing the same quantity out of a car will result in a 130 GEL fine.

Responsible Agencies

Other agencies share responsibility with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection for meeting specific requirements of the Directives within the framework of their competencies. Specifically:

  • The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia is the agency responsible for issuing permits for the construction of landfills. It is also responsible for the definition of waste transportation related requirements.
  • The Ministry of Finance of Georgia is responsible for the regulation of cross-border transportation of waste along with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection.
  • The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia regulates and controls medical waste management.
  • The Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia is responsible for the management of animal waste along with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection.
  • The Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia is responsible for the organization, management, and closure of a landfill for non-hazardous waste, as well as for the organization and management of waste reloading stations. SWMCG is responsible for the performance of these activities.

Local municipalities have a key role and responsibility in household waste management. They shall provide cleaning service to the municipality population, including the placement of garbage containers, collect waste from containers, clean the territory of a municipality, bring waste to landfills, and make sure waste is properly transported. The local supervision service, the patrol police, and the Environmental Supervision Department share responsibility for the enforcement of sanctions imposed for littering the environment.

In accordance with the AA, under the applicable law, local municipalities shall develop a five-year waste management plan by 31 December 2017. It should be noted that the municipalities are required to introduce a separation system at the source of waste, for example, houses or offices, from 2019.

Moreover, structures responsible for waste management vary according to cities and municipalities of the country. For example, household waste management, including the cleaning of territory, transporting waste, landfill management, and enforcement of sanctions for waste disposal by the local Tbilisi self-government falls within the competence of Tbilservice Group Ltd. In regions, the responsibility for the waste management process is shared between the municipalities and SWMCG, while Sandasuptaveba manages the waste in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and its municipalities.

Currently the body responsible for the management of certain types of waste, such as inert and hazardous waste, is not defined, which causes a real problem in the field in terms of the distribution of responsibilities and functions. The level of state accounting and reporting for solid waste is significantly low. No waste separation currently takes place; waste recycling and secondary use is of a fragmented nature. At this time, no cleaning service is provided for a large part of the rural population and therefore there are hundreds of uncontrolled spontanous landfills in the country.

According to EU requirements and therefore pursuant to Georgian law, an efficient management scheme for municipal infrastructure systems shall be formed in Georgia, which will cover the regulation of waste management, the definition of relevant standards and improvement of service, the development of a standard methodology for the calculation of a service fee considering best practices and geographical location, and the encouragement of the commercialization of waste management.

As for requirements put forward by the EC Directive on the landfill of waste concerning the regulation of landfills in regions, the gradual closure and construction of regional landfills for non-hazardous waste based on international standards fall within SWMCG’s responsibility.

Currently, it is planned to construct new regional non-hazardous waste landfills of European standards in the Imereti region which will provide services for the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti regions as well, with the KfW (German Reconstruction Credit Bank)) acting as the donor organization. The project will be implemented in Imereti within the 2015 to 2019 period, in Kvemo Kartli from 2014 to 2018, and in Adjara from 2015 to 2018, with the EBRD acting as donor.

Moreover, KfW is conducting a pre-feasibility study in the Kakheti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti regions to define territories for new regional landfills and transfer stations.

Georgia is currently in negotiations with the EBRD and KfW on conducting pre-feasibility studies in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Shida Kartli, and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions, based on the results of which new regional landfills and transfer stations will be constructed. Overall, Georgia will have approximately 8 to 10 landfills which are up to European standards.

The population of Georgia has a significant role to play in meeting commitments under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

The population is a producer of waste and performer of requirements of active legislation. It is the responsibility of the local self-government bodies to plan household waste management related issues and make sure the population is involved in the process.

In this respect, it is important to hold public awareness campaigns, in which non-governmental organizations, relevant state agencies, and the mass media will be involved.

Meeting AA requirements will have both short-term and long-term economic, environmental, and health benefits. For example, the operation of landfills organized according to EU directives will lead to the following results:

  • Record-keeping, control, monitoring, and safe disposal of municipal waste that enter non-hazardous waste landfills;
  • Prevention of groundwater and surface water (rivers, lakes, sea) pollution;
  • Prevention of all possible types of burning of waste and consequently reducing the risk of pollution of the environment surrounding landfills (for example by air emissions) as well as fire hazard;
  • Reduction of the risk of adverse health effects of environment pollution for the population living near landfill sites;
  • Employment of the population in the landfill and transfer station management system;
  • Reduction of the space littered by municipal waste and therefore significant improvement of living and leisure facilities for the population and tourists;
  • Separate collection of biodegradable waste through the introduction of a separation practice at the source of waste (organic waste, in household conditions, green waste, meal leftovers) and composting will not only reduce the quantity of waste but will also help the population save on fertilizers because of the possible use of compost as a fertilizer.

Through the implementation of the AA it will be possible to introduce state-of-the-art, successful technologies nationwide in the waste management sphere, improve the capacity of waste processing enterprises, and employ the population in waste recycling.

Meeting commitments under the Association Agreement with the European Union will ensure protection and exercise of constitutional rights of all citizens of the country: “Everyone shall have the right to live in a healthy environment” (Article 37, the Constitution of Georgia).