The National Waste Management Plan in the Czech republic: outstanding opportunities for composting and MBT

In June 2003 the Government of the Czech Republic finally adopted a new waste management plan (WMP). This constitutes a far-reaching planning document which is deemed to enforce EU strategies in the Czech regulatory framework, and will concurrently develop minimization, recycling and treatment of waste. Particularly improtant provisions are those concerning source separation of biowaste, composting as well as machanical-biological treatment of municipal solid waste.

Key points for a sustainable waste management strategy in the Czech WMP

The most important provisions of the Czech WMP may be listed as follows:

1. Achieving the target of increasing recovery of wastes with preference given to recycling, with a statutory target of 55% of all waste produced by year 2012; increase recovery of municipal waste to 50% by 2010
2. Target are set to decrease the maximum amount of biologically degradable municipal wastes (BDMW) deposited in landfills, so that
   • according to the EC Landfill Directive 99/31
   • the faction of these components equals a maximum of 75% by weight in 2010 and 50% in 2013 and, in the future, in 2020, a maximum of 35% of the total amount of BDMW produced in 1995. In order that this be achieved, the following has to be considered:
     1. reduce contamination of biodegradable wastes by other wastes, especially hazardous ones
     2. prefer composting and anaerobic decomposition of biodegradable wastes (except for paper and cardboards wastes) with use of the final product particularly in agriculture, in land reclamation and landscaping; only wastes that cannot be used in this manner should be processed to produce substitute fuel or used anyway for energy production
     3. prepare an "Implementation Program" for biodegradable wastes dealing comprehensively with the management of these wastes, with special emphasis on decreasing the amount of BDMW deposited in landfill
3. Prepare a strategy to support the market for recycled products
4. Do not provide for any new support for the construction of new waste landfills from state funds
5. Do not provide for any new support for the construction of new incinerators of municipal waste from state funds
6. Another target is set to decrease the fraction of wastes deposited in landfills by 20% by weight by year 2010 (compared to 2000), with prospects for a further decrease. In order that this be achieved, the following has to be considered:
   1. wastes have only to be landfilled in cases where theycannot be otherwise managed at the given site and time
   2. support shjould be provided for conversion of the existing landfill sites into complex waste management centres, including pre-treatment of waste

Strategies on composting and MBT to be implemented

In order to achieve statutory recycling rates, source separation of biowaste and its composting/AD will have to cover a major role in integrated strategies for waste management.

In order to reduce further biodegradable waste in landfills, the Czech Republic will also have to consider "complex waste treatment sites", performing mechanical-biological treatment of residual waste to ensure acceptable stability of treated waste before disposal. Most probably, at MBT sites also production of substitute fuel (RDF) may be considered, which may help reaching the 55% target for recovery of waste by 2012.

The ban to fund incineration and landfilling through the State Budget, will likely make both much less cost-competitive against recycling and MBT.

After the adoption of the WMP by the Government, Czech Composting Association (CZ Biom) was requested to coordinate the Implementation Program of the Czech Republic for biodegradable wastes. According to Antonin Slejška, the coordinator of the team which also includes experts form the Ministry of environment (MoE), the following measures have to be implemented:

• Development of source separation for biowaste, given that it will be impossible to achieve the statutory target for recycling without it.
• Source separation will also be promoted as a tool to collect secondary raw material for the production of compost; therefore the contamination of biowaste has to be reduced.
• Because of the implementation of source separation of biowaste there will be an increase of capacity of composting and AD plants.

The strategy to support the market of recycled products, which is in the Czech republic now being prepared, will have to improve marketing conditions for compost. In the past, the trade of compost was poorly developed even for good quality products from source separated materials.

This is mainly because hobby and professional gardeners were in general not used to using recycled products. The use of compost is increasing in number application including reclamation substrate to recover wide areas of old coal opencast.

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