Recycling of mercury containing lamps in Flanders ETT 53729 – Kiev, Ukraine25-26.11.2013

Christof DelatterAssociation of Flemish Cities and Municipalities

www.vvsg.beTel. +32 2 211.55.99

E-mail: christof.delatter@vvsg.be

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This Presentation

• About Flanders• Results of Flemish waste management policy• Basic competences• WEEE legislation• WEEE collection• Recycling of mercury containing lamps• Financing

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Flanders (1)

• 3 Belgian regions: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia• Land area Flanders: ± 13.500 km² (45% of Belgium)• Flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills• Population: just over 6 million• Population density: ± 440 inh./km²• Intense pressures from human activities: densely

populated, dense transportation network, industry, intensive cattle breeding (millions of porcs, chickens, cows) and crop cultivation

• High quantities of waste ↔ pressure on land use

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Flanders (2)

• 308 municipalities• Average population: ± 18.000

inh/municipality• Smallest municipality: 84

inhabitants• Largest city: 472.071 inhabitants• Rural municipalities as well as

densely populated cities• All are member of VVSG• Waste management largely

organized through intermunicipal cooperation

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Flanders (3)

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Flemish waste management: results (1)

• Very successful separate collection: • Results at the top• Doorstep collection of lots of recyclables• Bring system (> 340 civic amenity sites)• Very high recycling rate

• 2002: first year in which the growth in waste production stopped

• Since 2006: no more landfilling of household waste• Commercial waste…?

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Flemish waste management: results (2)

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Flemish waste management: results (3)

2010 1991

Production 525 kg /inhabitant/year

406 kg /inhabitant/year

Separate collection (total)

374 kg /inhabitant/year

71 %

75 kg /inhabitant/year

= 18 %

Residual waste 150 kg*/inhabitant/year

331 kg/inhabitant/year

*all of it incinerated with energy recovery

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Competences (1)

• In Belgium: regions have considerable political autonomy• fully responsible for environmental matters (incl. spatial

planning), except:• Nuclear waste• Waste transit through Belgium• Product Policy• European and International Policy (joint decisionmaking)

• Regional waste management legislation, waste management planning with objectives, targets, minimum requirements for service

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Competences (2)

• One public waste authority on Flemish (regional) level, established in 1981 (OVAM), responsible for working out regional waste management plans

• Municipalities are legally responsible for organizing the collection and treatment of household waste• Free choice between organizing through own (inter)municipal

services; tendering; public-private partnerships

• Producer responsibility for certain waste streams like WEEE, packaging waste, batteries,…• Fluorescent and energy saving lamps are included in producer

responsibility for WEEE

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WEEE - Legislation (1)• 1997: decision for gradual introduction of PR for WEEE: 1 for 1

take back obligation to start on 1st of July 1999• But……

• Municipalities already collected WEEE on civic amenity sites (mostly as scrap metal)

• Producers not very keen to start with own collection system• Hard negotiations about responsibilities and cost of

collection• “Agreement” between producers and central government was

reached in 2001• Collection by the producers started on 1st of July 2001 (2

years later than required in legislation)• Only one recognized organism of WEEE-industry in Belgium

(for household WEEE) : Recupel

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WEEE - Legislation (2)• Today: acceptance duty and deal covering most costs

for collection on civic amenity sites• Recupel:

• Not for profit organization of producers and importers• Receives the environmental fees paid by consumers• Organizes tenders for collection and treatment (is no collector

of waste itself)• Has to agree on contracts with local authorities collecting

WEEE• Provides a collection container• Reports to the government on quantities put on the market

and collected for recycling• Organizes national communication campaigns• Supports local communication

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WEEE - Collection (1)

Consumer

Reuse center ShopMunicipality

Regional transfer station(intermunicipal organisation)

Waste transportation company

Recycling/treatment companies

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WEEE-Collection (2)

• Quantities collected in Belgium (mercury containing lights)

Pas aan bij: Invoegen / Koptekst en Voettekst14 - 24-04-23

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Collection on civic amenity sites

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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (1)

• In Flanders: 2 companies for recycling of mercury containing lamps (Indaver Relight and Steenhaut)

• Treatment process:• Fluorescent powder is forced out of the lamps with compressed air• Lamps are broken into fine pieces and sieved into different

fractions:• Iron• Glass• Mercury containing fluorescent powder

• Metals and glass go to post purification step (treatment at 200 °C) to make them totally mercury free and fit for recycling

• Distillation and recovery of mercury from the fluorescent powder

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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (2)

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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (3)

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Recycling of mercury containing lamps (4)

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WEEE - Financing (1)

Tax payer

Consumer

Recupel (producers) Shops

Waste companies

Regional transfer stations (intermunicipal)

Municipalities

Reuse centers

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WEEE-Financing (2)

• Current product fees for LED-lamps, fluorescent light bulbs and energy saving lamps:• 0,20 euro including VAT• (0,1653 VAT not included)• Appliances with integrated lamps: environmental fee is integrated

in the total fee for the appliance

• For collection, municipalities receive a fee:• 0,0080 euro/inhabitant/year• 90,40 euro per tonne collected

• Transport, treatment, recycling is funded directly by Recupel

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Conclusions

• Producer responsibility has proven to be a strong tool to enhance collection and treatment of mercury containing lamps• Easy path to create necessary cash flow, but integration of full

environmental cost is an absolute condition• Stability allowing investment in treatment• Cooperation with municipalities for collection• Give consumers different well chosen options

• Even in Flanders: still a long way to go to ‘capture’ all mercury containing lamps

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Questions ?

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