Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries and amending Directive 2004/35/EC^f1, and in particular Article 22(1)(e) thereof,

Whereas:

Directive 2006/21/EC provides for waste characterisation as part of the waste management plan, which has to be drawn up by the operator of extractive industries and approved by the competent authority. Annex II of that Directive provides a list of certain aspects to be included in the waste characterisation.

The purpose of the characterisation of extractive waste is to obtain the relevant information on the waste to be managed in order to be able to assess and monitor its properties, behaviour and characteristics and thereby ensure that it is managed under environmentally safe conditions in the long term. Furthermore, the characterisation of extractive waste should facilitate the determination of the options for managing such waste and the related mitigation measures in order to protect human health and the environment.

The necessary information and data for the characterisation of extractive waste should be collected on the basis of existing relevant and appropriate information or, if needed, by sampling and testing. It should be ensured that information and data for waste characterisation are appropriate, of adequate quality and representative of the waste. This information should be duly justified in the waste management plan to the full satisfaction of the competent authority.

The level of detail of information to be gathered and the related sampling or testing needs should be adapted to the type of waste, the potential environmental risks, and the intended waste facility. From a technical point of view, it should be made possible to adopt an iterative approach to ensure appropriate waste characterisation.

From a technical point of view, it is appropriate to exempt waste defined as inert in accordance with the criteria laid down in Commission Decision 2009/359/EC^f2 from part of the geochemical testing.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 18 of Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f3,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: