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Environmental Law Issues In Connection With Landfill Mining
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Social Sciences, Technology and Arts, Social Sciences.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4687-3945
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Social Sciences, Technology and Arts, Social Sciences.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0767-4908
2022 (English)In: Detritus, ISSN 2611-4135, Vol. 18, p. 77-84Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In Sweden, landfills are excavated on a relatively modest scale (mainly for the purpose of decontamination, to increase landfill capacity or to free up land for other uses). Lately however, aspirations for excavations aimed at recovering energy and materials have increased and an important goal according to the Mineral Strategy of Sweden is to increase the recycling rate of metals and minerals and reduce the amount of waste. The incidence of certain (critical) metals and minerals, including REE and phosphorus, is moreover assumed to be relatively large in Swedish landfills, and the interest in excavating landfills is therefore expected to increase. The legal situation as regards excavation of landfills in general and of mining waste in particular, is however unclear, not least regarding permit requirement according to the Swedish Environmental Code. Even though landfill recycling may entail numerous negative environmental effects, e.g., acidic and metallic leachate, release of gases, and destabilization of land the regulation of the activity is not clear. The aim of this paper is to describe and problematize the legal situation as regards landfill excavation in Sweden against the backdrop of, on the one hand, a potential increase in the demand for recycled metals and minerals, and on the other hand comprehensive requirements for a non-toxic and healthy environment.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
CISA Publisher , 2022. Vol. 18, p. 77-84
Keywords [en]
Circular economy, Waste law, Enhanced landfill Mining, Landfill excavation
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Law
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-90492DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.15160ISI: 000787846700013Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85128411413OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-90492DiVA, id: diva2:1655369
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2018-00194
Note

Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-05-02 (sofila)

Available from: 2022-05-02 Created: 2022-05-02 Last updated: 2024-12-20Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Waste or Resource – The Function of Waste Law in a Circular Economy
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Waste or Resource – The Function of Waste Law in a Circular Economy
2024 (Swedish)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Alternative title[sv]
Avfall eller Resurs – Avfallsrättens Funktion i en Cirkulär Ekonomi
Abstract [en]

Generation of waste is unavoidable. While human use of natural resources, at least initially, is often about refining resources, it typically also involves a reduction in value in the form of, for example, losses of energy or gradual deterioration of physical objects. The use of resources thus contributes to the production of waste. Waste is considered a nuisance and has historically been dealt with in the cheapest, or easiest way possible. Current resource use and consumption rates are, however, often considered unstainable, and according to some estimations humanity is currently consuming about three plantes worth of resources. Circular economy, where generation of waste is minimized, and reutilization of waste is increased, has therefore been proposed as an economic model for the future. One, frequently mentioned, barrier towards circular economy is the legal system. When it comes to new and innovative practices, legal systems often adapt at slow pace. This is also the case for European waste law. Waste is within the European Union (EU) regulated through the 2008 Waste Framework Directive, which is a minimum directive. Waste law is an area where the EU exercises great influence over Member State (MS) policy and MS may not implement laws that provide for a lower level of protection than what EU law mandates. As is often the case in studies related to environmental law, the legal system in focus for this study is EU environmental law, as a large part of the national regulations are either influenced by or derived from EU law as a large share of national provisions are either affected by, or stem from EU law (or both).

The aim of this dissertation is to examine the role of law in relation to both environmental protection in the immediate sense, and reutilization of waste. Previous research has established that waste law can be said to have developed around how waste is defined legally, and that the definition of waste is a cornerstone of the entire corpus of waste law as it determines what can and cannot be controlled by the substantive rules the framework provides. To this end, the dissertation examines the relationship between key terms for the applicability of the WFD, the concepts of waste, by-product and end-of-waste through legal analysis. It builds on previous research by assessing the coherency between these terms. Special attention is paid to under what circumstances a substance or object may transform into a waste and vice versa. The dissertation shows that transformation from non-waste to waste, and waste to non-waste differ. the law sets higher requirements for something to be classified as non-waste than for the object to be classified as waste, as a result of the mandatory, cumulative, conditions that must be fulfilled for end-of-waste and by-products. This means that substances or objects are included in and excluded from the protective governance of waste law on different terms. In this regard, the dissertation suggests that this incoherency can be alleviated by the alignment of the concepts of waste, by-product and end-of-waste.

In addition, the dissertation also examines the regulatory framework for two specific waste streams: legacy waste and sewage sludge. Sewage sludge is, through the Sewage Sludge Directive (SSD), regulated lex specialis. Here, the perceived appropriateness of the regulatory framework is examined through interviews with sector stakeholders. A key finding is that the regulatory framework is perceived to be obsolete by the stakeholders, an opinion that is mirrored in literature, but also that it is possible to enforce stricter requirements than what is called for by the SSD. This highlights a gap between ‘law in books and law in action’. Regarding the recovery of legacy waste, the dissertation shows that, chiefly, the regulatory framework is not designed for recovery of such waste. This result mirrors previous literature showing that the current regulatory framework is not designed for the objectives of circular economy, such as recovery of legacy waste. For instance, specific provisions are missing for both the recovery of mining waste and landfill mining. The regulatory framework can thus, in this regard, be considered as underdeveloped, which means uncertainty for the actors involved.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Luleå: Luleå tekniska universitet, 2024
Series
Doctoral thesis / Luleå University of Technology 1 jan 1997 → …, ISSN 1402-1544
Keywords
Environmental Law, EU Law, Waste Framework Directive, End-of-Waste, Sewage Sludge, Legacy Waste, Landfill Mining, Mining Waste
National Category
Law and Society Environmental Management
Research subject
Law
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-110255 (URN)978-91-8048-658-3 (ISBN)978-91-8048-659-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2024-11-29, A109, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, 10:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2024-10-07 Created: 2024-10-04 Last updated: 2024-11-08Bibliographically approved

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Johansson, OskarPettersson, Maria

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