Ecology, Estonia, EU – Baltic States

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 11:25

Estonia may be fined EUR 100 mln for non-compliance with waste target

BC, Tallinn, 15.01.2019.Print version
If Estonia does not admit into circulation 50% of municipal waste by 2020, the country may be faced with a 100 mln euro fine, according the daily Eesti Paevaleht reports LETA.

Kalle Palling, deputy chair of the parliamentary environment committee, said that in the event of failure to meet the waste management target, Estonia will be threatened with an European Union fine, which is promising to be bigger by a half than the sugar tax, up to 100 mln euros.


The Estonian parliament has been handling the Waste Act for 16 months. According to Palling, there has been no real progress in the matter for approximately a year. By 2020, Estonia must have admitted 50% of municipal waste into circulation, while the percentage currently stands at 32%.


Due to a slow procedural process and the inability to reconcile the parties, a fairly weak bill can be expected, which likely will not help Estonia to the circulation goal set. The handling of the Waste Act received a new boost right before Christmas. At present, the parties to the proceedings say that they expect to adopt the law in a more lenient form still before the elections. But it is namely the elections that also reduce the ambition of the bill.


Chairman of the parliamentary environment committee Rainer Vakra said that the handling of the bill has dragged on because when drawing up the bill, the ministry did not include interest groups in it enough.


"We have received over 200 amendment proposals, so, we are essentially sewing a suit to a button at present. This is definitely not everyday legal practice and the ministry has definitely not drawn up a bill worthy of an A+ grade. In the committee, we have discussed the proposals of all interest groups three times already -- these decisions cannot be made rashly," Vakra said.


In order for the bill to be adopted in any form, the decision was made to divide the amendment proposals into two -- those regarding which agreements have been reached by now and those that still need to be discussed.


The environment committee on Monday will once again discuss conflicting issues and the ministry is hoping to find a solution to some of them. It is likely that some 130 softer amendment proposals will be sent to the parliament's great hall, while more innovative ideas will initially not be included in the bill.


"There are many good proposals in the bill. For example, a very important point for waste handlers is making waste permits and licenses simpler, that is reducing red tape," Margit Ruutelmann, managing director of Estonian Waste Management Association, said. "However, waste handlers do not believe that the entire bill should now be flushed down and be solved again with the next government. We will continue with at least some of the proposals," she added.






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