Waste policy in the Czech Republic is changing. ‘The amendment to the Waste Act will make it significantly easier for citizens to sort waste and will also give recycling an economic advantage over incineration and, in particular, landfilling’ said the Minister of the Environment, Martin Bursík.

Under this new legislation, by the end of 2010 municipalities must allow their citizens to sort basic secondary raw materials: paper, plastics, glass, drinks cartons and biodegradable waste. The Ministry of the Environment is currently preparing an amendment to the Packaging Act, which will expand the recycling duty of the packaging industry, which will have to contribute more to municipalities for sorting.

There is still a lot of room for improvement, in particular in the sorting of biological waste. In the Czech Republic there are currently 137 functioning composting plants, but only nine biogas stations. According to the Waste Management Plan of the Czech Republic, in 2010 only 112 kg of biodegradable waste per inhabitant were disposed of in landfills. In reality, 142.5 kg per inhabitant were disposed of in landfills in 2006. Slightly less than half of biodegradable municipal waste is disposed of in landfills, despite the fact that this waste can be recovered in composting plants or used to generate energy in biogas stations.

The new framework seeks to improve the take-back system for batteries and accumulators, and to improve the take-back system of electrical equipment. Manufacturers of batteries and accumulators must ensure that citizens have the possibility of taking these products back to every shop in which they are sold and without being charged. And the amendment increases the transparency of the system for take-back of used electrical equipment and the ability to monitor the operators of these systems. There is also an increase in the number of places where it is possible to return used electrical appliances.

The amendment also improves the accessibility of places where it is possible to hand over an end-of-life vehicles for appropriate depollution and recycling activities.

And, crucially, the revised policies will make the requirements stricter for the operation of landfills, including an increase in charges for each tonne of landfilled waste to an eventual level of CZK 1500 (about 60 euros) in 2013. Regions will receive 80% of the yields from these charges, and the municipalities on the territories of which the landfills take place will receive 20%. ‘The regions must reinvest these resources into waste management – that is to say, improving the possibilities of sorting waste for citizens, building new composting plants and recycling lines and similar projects’ explains Minister Bursík.

In addition to the law, the Ministry of the Environment has also prepared financial tools to support investment into improved waste management. Over 500 million euros have been earmarked for this purpose in the Environmental Operational Programme up to 2013.