Integrated waste management

The hierarchy of integrated waste management measures according to the principle of prevention.

Waste disposal is a complicated and expensive activity. [2] The current understanding of waste does not start with the intention to increase and improve the disposal capacity, but rather with the adoption of new technologies that produce less waste, which comes in forms that are easier to treat. In addition, solving the environmental issues related to waste is not possible unless the measures that are being taken are well coordinated. The principles on which this coordination is based are:

The principle of prevention, according to which activities are ranked according to their importance: avoiding waste generation, minimizing the amount of waste, reuse, treatment by recovery, treatment by disposal.

The “Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive Cost” (BATNEEC) principle.

The “Polluter pays” principle, according to which waste management and environmental damage control costs are to be covered by the entity that causes the problem.

The substitution principle, which foresees replacing hazardous materials with non-hazardous materials.

The proximity principle, which foresees that waste must be treated as close to the source as possible. Shipping (export) is allowed only to specialized units that have the necessary technology to treat the waste.

The subsidiarity principle, which promotes the initiative of lower management levels, based on uniform criteria.

The integration principle states that waste management activities are part of the social-economic activities that generate the waste.

The implementation of the Integrated Waste Management System in Romania is done based on the National Waste Management Strategy, prepared by the Ministry of Environment, and on the National Waste Management Plan, drafted by the National Environmental Protection Authority. Based on the national plan, Regional Environmental Protection Agencies have to draft Regional Waste Management Plans.