The Landfill Act 2002 establishes the legal framework governing the operation, regulation and environmental management of landfill sites in Gibraltar, transposing the requirements of Council Directive 1999/31/EC and subsequent European Union amendments. The Act designates the Environmental Agency as regulator, requires operators to obtain a landfill permit before undertaking landfill activities, and classifies landfills as hazardous, non-hazardous or inert waste facilities. It defines prohibited waste streams, including liquid waste, infectious clinical waste, specified hazardous substances, waste tyres, waste industrial and automotive batteries, and separately collected waste intended for re-use or recycling. The legislation also incorporates waste hierarchy principles and introduces targets for reducing the landfilling of recyclable and municipal waste. The Act establishes detailed permitting, operational and waste acceptance requirements. Permit applications must contain information regarding the landfill site, waste types and quantities, pollution prevention measures, monitoring arrangements, closure plans and financial guarantees. Operators are required to ensure that only authorised and appropriately treated waste is accepted, maintain records concerning waste origin, quantity and characteristics, verify compliance with waste acceptance criteria, and provide annual reporting to the regulator. The legislation further prescribes technical standards for landfill design and operation, including requirements relating to site location, geological barriers, leachate collection systems, groundwater protection, landfill gas control, environmental monitoring, nuisance prevention and site security. Specific provisions regulate the temporary storage and monitoring of metallic mercury. The Act provides obligations for monitoring, closure and after-care management. Operators must undertake ongoing environmental monitoring of leachate, groundwater, landfill gas and site stability, notify the regulator of significant adverse environmental effects, and implement corrective measures when required. Landfill sites remain subject to maintenance, monitoring and environmental control obligations after closure for as long as the regulator considers necessary. The Act empowers the regulator to recover costs associated with its regulatory functions, establishes offences for contraventions, and authorises the Minister to make implementing regulations. Schedules annexed to the Act prescribe waste acceptance criteria, technical landfill standards, monitoring procedures, treatment requirements for specific waste streams, and implementation plans for achieving landfill diversion and recycling targets.
Gibraltar (RU) · 2002-12-16