Brussels, 02/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday 1 December that France, by not taking the necessary steps to ensure that asbestos cement (a construction material containing asbestos) waste was treated in properly equipped sites, had failed in its obligations under EU legislation on landfilling of waste.
Thus, the Court upheld an action for failure to fulfil an obligation lodged by the European Commission in October 2011. The Commission said that French rules, which describe construction materials containing asbestos cement which have not been damaged as “inert waste”, and therefore not dangerous, allow such waste to be placed in landfill sites for inert waste. Under EU law, construction materials containing asbestos are deemed to be “dangerous” and must be placed either in sites specifically equipped for dangerous materials or in a site for non-dangerous materials but subject to a number of criteria being met. Furthermore, precautions have to be taken to avoid the dispersal of fibres and to prevent all human contact with this waste after the sites in which it has been placed are closed.
In its ruling, the Court stated that it is not at issue that asbestos cement waste is allowed, under French rules, to be placed in inert waste sites and confirmed that, within the meaning of Directive 1999/31/EC, waste of this sort cannot be placed in such sites. (FG/transl.rt)