During the discussion the Committee members emphasized that problems existing in Ukraine in the field of waste management are among the most serious and the most complicated to solve, and they are caused, in particular, by the lack of adequate infrastructure, gaps in the legislation, deficit of training and education programs, absence of coordination between the central bodies of executive power, which deal with different aspects of waste management.
They also pointed to the fact that the current structure of waste management system of Ukraine is not perfect, its fragmentation, disintegration and dissimilarity amid real absence of interaction among economic entities, bodies of executive power and local self-government does not provide for creation of an effective system of collection, recycling and disposal of certain kinds of waste.
During the round table they discussed, in particular, the draft law on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine in the field of waste management regarding prevention of the negative impact of waste of end use of products on the environment (No.3198), provisions of which are aimed at creating and securing efficient functioning of the system of collection, recycling and disposal of waste of end use of products, and improvement of the management system in this field in accordance with the requirements of the EU Directive No.2008/98/EC on waste.
It is proposed to amend the Law of Ukraine "On Waste," in particular, to introduce the concept of waste of end use of products (materials), which includes packaging waste, waste fuel (oils), worn-out tires, waste of electrical and electronic equipment, to create self-regulatory organizations for each of these kinds of waste of end use of products, which are non-profit associations and guaranteed providers of services for collection, recycling and disposal of waste of end use of products.
The draft law introduces amendments to the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses by increasing the size of penalties for officials, and supplements the Law of Ukraine "On Waste" with new Article 42-1 on introducing penalties to be applied to economic entities for violations in the sphere of waste management.
In addition, this document:
Defines the jurisdiction of bodies of executive power and local self-government, sets clear liabilities of economic entities in the sphere of certain kinds of waste management regarding ensuring collection, recycling and disposal of waste, prevention of the negative impact of waste on the environment and health of Ukraine’s population;
Introduces a transparent system of accounting and reporting, informing stakeholders and the public on the state of affairs in this field, a system of permanent monitoring in the field of management of waste as secondary raw material.
The meeting participants also discussed the draft law on amendments to some laws of Ukraine on household waste management and encouragement of their use as an alternative energy source (No.3198-1). It was noted that the draft law was prepared to comprehensively settle the issue of household waste management, improvement of the mechanisms of state regulation in the sphere of household waste management based on Directive 2008/98/EC on waste and abolition of certain directives, increasing the efficiency of Ukraine's legislation on household waste management, addressing detected imperfections of legal regulation in this field, creation of favorable legal environment for drawing investment in the energy sector and promotion of electric energy and heat production through household waste recycling at the expense of "green" tariff spreading on this type of electric energy.
Owing to the hierarchy, they introduced a priority of step-by-step operations of household waste management, and this allows to create a new industry in the field of household waste management, to ensure the provision of services for household waste removal of adequate quality, to introduce modern methods and technologies of collection, transportation, recycling and environment friendly disposal of recycled waste, obtainment of secondary raw materials from waste, and will improve the environment situation and attractiveness of the market in the field of waste management for economic entities.
Following the discussion, they offered to prepare a coordinated draft law on the subject.