SOLID WASTE IN ROMANIA: MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT AND POLLUTION PREVENTION PRACTICES

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal September/October 2007, Vol.6, No.5, 451-465 http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/eemj/ Gh. Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania SOLID WASTE IN ROMANIA: MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT AND POLLUTION PREVENTION PRACTICES Ana-Maria Şchiopu 1,2, Ion Apostol 1, Monica Hodoreanu 1, Maria Gavrilescu 2 1 S.C. Salubris S.A.,Iasi, Romania 2 Technical University of Iaşi, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, 71 Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, Romania Abstract The paper analyzes some aspects of waste management in Romania and, in particular, in Iasi County, in view of the European perspective. Urban and rural waste management is considered and collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials is discussed relative to the National Waste Management Strategy and the National Plan for Waste Management, as well as European and national legislative framework. It was showed that land disposal will continue to be a disposal option but due to stricter regulation. Also, some problems with reference to waste management hierarchy and pollution prevention practices that reduce or eliminate the amount and/or toxicity of generated wastes released to the air, land or water before any management practices, treatment or disposal are explored. Local and regional authorities are heavily and increasingly involved in the management of waste. In most cases, they are responsible for developing and implementing municipal waste management plans based on the medium to long term. Solid waste management is regarded much more than a technological issue and usually involves managing a large workforce and working together closely with the public. Keywords: landfill, management, pollution prevention, solid waste 1. Waste management in European perspective 1.1. Overview Since the mid - 1980s it has been recognized that waste, as with other environmental problems, is a global issue. Waste is now not only a danger to the environment, but it is increasingly a threat to human health and the way of life. Article 8 of the Sixth Action Programme sets down proposals relating to the sustainable use and management of natural resources and waste. Waste generation is increasing in the EU, and amounted to about 3.5 tonnes of solid waste per person in 1995 (excluding agricultural waste), mainly from manufacturing, construction and demolition and mining (Fig. 1) (EEA, 1998). Waste management includes all the waste collection, transport, treatment, recovery and disposal (Eriksson et al., 2005). Responsibilities for waste management activities shall be assigned to waste generators, according to the polluter pays principle or, as the case may be, to waste producers, according to the producer responsibility principle. Fig. 1. Waste generation by sector Organising the collection, transport and disposal of municipal waste is one of the obligations of local public administration. Most communities use an integrated approach to waste management, meaning they use a variety of ways to handle the trash produced by their citizens. Some of these include pollution prevention, landfilling, recycling, composting,

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 waste reduction, waste-to-energy plants, hazardous waste disposal, and litter prevention and control (Burnley, 2007; Moletta, 2002; Tchobanoglous et al., 1993). Services of public sanitation are passing through a period of major changes and of research of viable solutions across the entire Europe (Hall, 2003). In the European concept, sanitation as public services of general interest has the following characteristics: universality; equality of treatment; continuity; safety of people and of service; adaptability and long- term administration; transparency. The main problems regarding the future of these services that the European Union is raising today are: globalization and the opening of the market for free competition; privatization; decentralization; the strengthening of social cohesion; sustainable development. In most EU countries landfilling is still the most common treatment route for waste and a major change is needed in order to implement the EU strategy on waste. proportion of all waste. Reasons for the creation of waste sometimes include requirements in the supply chain. For example, a company handling a product may insist that it should be packaged using a particular packing because it fits its packaging equipment. Waste minimization has proven benefits to industry and the wider environment (Gavrilescu and Nicu, 2005; Macoveanu, 2005b; Tsiliyannis, 2007): - reduces raw material costs - reduces the cost of transport and processing raw materials and the finished product - reduces the waste disposal cost to other parties (including collection, transport, processing and disposal). Waste minimization often requires investment, which is often compensated by the resulting savings. Waste reduction in one part of the production process may create waste production to another part. There are government incentives for waste minimization, which focus on the environmental benefits of adopting waste minimization strategies (Fig. 2). 1.2. Waste management hierarchy The Waste hierarchy refers to the "3 R s" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste. Waste minimization is the process and the policy of reducing the amount of waste produced by a person or a society. It is part of the wider aim of waste reduction which is often described as a component of the waste hierarchy. In the hierarchy, the most effective policies and processes are at the top. Waste minimization is also strongly related to efforts to minimize resource and energy use. For the same commercial output, usually the fewer materials are used, the less waste is produced. Waste minimization usually requires knowledge of the production process, cradle-to-grave analysis (the tracking of materials from their extraction to their return to earth) and detailed knowledge of the composition of the waste. The main sources of waste vary from country to country. In the UK, most waste comes from the manufacturing industry, agriculture, construction and demolition industries. Household waste constitutes a relatively small Fig. 2. Waste management hierarchy 1.3. Waste management and pollution prevention The increasing waste quantities are a challenge that cannot be solved in a sustainable way by efficient waste management and recycling alone. This requires the integration of waste management into a strategy for sustainable development, where waste prevention, reduction of resource depletion and energy consumption and minimization of emissions at the source is given high priority (Gavrilescu and Nicu, 2005; Nicu, 2001; Nicu and Apostu, 2005). Waste treatment and pollution prevention are different concepts having the same final goal: environmental protection and resource conservation: waste treatment and minimization refers to methods and processes for treating or removing wastes from effluent streams; pollution prevention refers to the design of new processes or modification of existing processes with a specific goal of producing minimal wastes. 452

Solid waste in Romania Also, pollution prevention is any practice that reduces or eliminates the amount and/or toxicity of generated wastes released to the air, land or water before any management practices, treatment or disposal. Pollution prevention includes the design or products and processes that will lead to less waste being produced. As a total plant philosophy, a pollution prevention program examines and implements methods to reduce hazardous, special and no hazardous waste. While total waste quantities are a measure of resource loss, the environmental impact of waste can not be analyzed by looking at quantity alone. Hazardous substances in waste, even in small quantities, can have a very negative impact on the environment (Fig. 3) (Steuerer, 1996). There must be an ongoing and comprehensive examination of the operations at all facilities with the goal of minimizing all types of waste products. An effective program will: reduce the risks of criminal and civil liability reduce operation costs reduce need for transport and disposal improve participation by faculty, staff and students enhance the college's image in the community protect the public health and the environment The highest priority for pollution prevention is source reduction, followed by recycling, treatment and disposal. Source reduction includes the use of environmentally friendly products and purchasing only the amounts needed. Recycle whenever possible for paper, tires, oil and other products as markets become available. Treatment includes, but is not limited to, stabilization, neutralization and evaporation. Disposal must be accomplished through the established hazardous waste program that should ensures that wastes are properly handled and taken to a permitted facility. Limited current systematic and consistent data hinder the development of projections for future waste trends. Nevertheless, most waste streams will probably increase over the next decade. In 2010 the generation of paper and cardboard, glass and plastic waste will increase by around 40% to 60% compared with 1990 levels. The number of scrapped cars should increase less, by around 35% compared with 1995 levels. 2. Overview on waste in Romania 2.1. Preamble Romania is an average-size country comparatively with other European countries, having an area of 238,391 km 2 (the thirteenth country in Europe as size) and a population of about 21.7 million inhabitants (according to statistical data for 2004) (PNG, 2004; SOP, 2006). Natural resources represent an essential part of Romania s richness and the exploitation of these resources, both renewable and non-renewable raw material, and their transformation into goods, determines the social and economic development of the country, environmental status and living conditions of the population. In order to contribute to the quality of life in Romania, natural resources need to be exploited in a sustainable manner (Macoveanu, 2005a; Macoveanu, 2006; Negulescu and Ianculescu, 2005). The government programme lays down three basic principles for Romania s environment policy, according to European and international law: ensuring the protection and conservation of nature, the protection of biological diversity, and the sustainable use of their components. An important problem in Romania as regards environmental protection is the management of waste. This notion covers activities of collection, transport, treatment, recovery and disposal of waste (Nicu, 2001; SOP, 2006). Fig. 3. Material flow and specific environmental impact qualitative and quantitative aspects of waste (EUR, 1999) 453

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 Waste represents an enormous loss of resources both in the form of materials and energy. Certainly, quantities of waste can be seen as an indicator of the material efficiency of society. Excessive quantities of waste result from (Costi et al., 2004): inefficient production processes; low durability of goods; unsustainable consumption patterns. Data regarding the management of waste in Romania make a distinction between three main categories of waste (NWMS, 2004; SOP, 2006): Municipal and similar waste: the totality of waste generated in the urban and rural areas, which comes from households, institutional and commercial sources, service providers (household waste), street waste collected from public spaces, streets, parks, green spaces, construction and demolition waste, sludge from the treatment of urban waste waters; Production waste: the totality of waste generated by industrial activities; it falls into two categories: non-hazardous production waste and hazardous production waste; Waste generated by medical activities: this is waste generated in hospitals, clinics, medical offices and it falls into two categories: - hazardous medical waste which includes infectious waste, medical sharps, pathological wastes, including organs, waste coming from infectious disease departments, etc. and - similar wastes, including other categories of waste outside the categories mentioned above, falling into the category of similar wastes. During 1998-2004, the ratio between the first two categories varied from one year to another, the average values being 29% municipal waste and 71% production waste. Municipal waste Production waste Table 1. Waste quantities generated (million tones) (SOP, 2006) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 6.77 8.07 8.96 8.82 9.58 8.43 8.19 22 17 18 22.25 24.50 30.54 28.51 In the EU countries, there are two major tendencies regarding the organization of the sanitation public services (EUR, 1999): one is the tendency of globalization of the services and opening of the market, along with the appearance and the development of big companies, transnational sometimes; the other is tendency of the governmental and local authorities to maintain the control, by associating the private companies in publicprivate partnerships, in the handling of these services. In Romania, waste management was not taken in consideration before 1990. Although important progress has been registered since then, there are necessary important resources to improve waste infrastructure and the developing of a proficient waste management. In most of the counties, the existing infrastructure respects only to a degree the Directive regulations regarding the waste. At the moment, the European legislation regarding the waste is transposed in the Romanian legislation in an extent of 80%. The National Plan for Waste Management (PNG, 2004) was adopted by Government Decision No. 1470/2004 (GO, 2004). Based on this strategic document, the Regional Plans for Waste Management contain general information regarding waste management in Romania, necessary steps regarding the prevention of waste generation and the reducing of waste generation, recycling methods, the list of monitoring indicators etc. At the same time, this national plan briefly presents the means and prepares the implementation of the community acquis regarding waste management (PNG, 2004; Puscasu, 2005). Up to now, waste public services in Romania considered the municipal waste. In urban area, the municipal waste management is carried out through specialized services belonging to the municipalities or through sanitation companies. The ratio of urban population covered by sanitation services increased from 73% in 1998 to about 90% in 2002-2003 (SOP, 2006). In rural area, there are no organized services for waste management, the transportation of waste to dumping sites being made individually by each generator. Only a limited number of rural localities are covered by organized services for waste management, and especially rural localities situated in the neighborhood of urban centers. In 2003, about 5% of the rural population was covered by sanitation services, whilst in 2004 this ratio has increased to about 6.5% (SOP, 2006) Moreover, outside the counties/regions where ISPA projects are implemented, there is no integrated approach when it comes to municipal waste management (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993). Before current legislation was adopted, there were public/private partnerships in order to build solid waste landfills or for waste collecting and transportation, but not for selective collecting, reaching waste recycling targets, composting facilities or the closing of the not conform landfills. Hence, it is necessary for the existing waste facilities to be extended in order to create proficient systems for waste integrated management on a regional/county level, and also to be considered the waste categories that need specific measures of 454

Solid waste in Romania treatment and elimination (Caruso et al., 1993; Gavrilescu and Nicu, 2005; Nicu, 2001; Robu, 2005). 2.2. Strategic principles and objectives The waste management activities are based on several principles in the context of sustainable development, which implies (NWMS, 2004; Macoveanu, 2006; Nicu, 2001; SOP, 2006): - the principle of protection of primary resources that highlights the need to minimise and enhance the efficiency in the use of primary resources, particularly nonrenewable resources, with an accent on the use of secondary raw materials; - the principle of preliminary measures, which is associated with the principle of BATNEEC (Best available techniques not entailing excessive costs) and states that the current state of technological development, requirements concerning environment protection, selection and implementation of economically feasible measures have to be considered in any activity (including waste management); - the prevention principle, which sets up a waste management hierarchy, in the decreasing order of concern: avoiding waste arising, minimising waste quantity, treatment for recovery, treatment and disposal in environmentally sound conditions; - the polluter pays principle, correlated with the principle of producer responsibility and user responsibility, states the need for setting up an adequate legislative and economic framework, according to which waste management costs should be covered by the generators of waste; - the substitution principle that emphasises the need to replace dangerous raw materials by non-dangerous raw materials, in order to avoid hazardous waste arising; - the proximity principle, correlated with the autonomy principle, which proclaim that waste should be treated or disposed of as close as possible to the site where it was generated; moreover, exports of hazardous waste should only be made to countries where appropriate disposal technologies are available, and with the observance of the conditions applying in international waste trade; - the subsidiarity principle (in correlation with the proximity principle and the autonomy principle), states that responsibilities should be assigned in such a way as to allow waste management decisions to be taken at the lowest administrative level above the source of generation, but based on uniform regional and national criteria; - the integration principle, means that waste management is an integral part of the social-economic activities generating the waste. These principles are achieved by applying some instruments, such as (Macoveanu, 2005a; Macoveanu, 2006; PNG, 2004): - regulatory instruments - economic instruments - statistical instruments - other instruments: implementing existing legislation and monitoring implementation; drafting waste management plans; setting up committees that include representatives of all the factors involved in the management of certain types of waste; performing product life cycle assessments and eco-balances, with a view to implementing best practices in waste management. 2.3. The waste re-collecting, collecting, lifting and transportation system Municipal wastes are collected at local levels by the local authorities who have this responsibility (Law 139/2002 to approve the GEO No. 87/2001 regarding the sanitary public services). Every local authority (municipal councils) is obliged to organize this service for the population. In small towns there is only one sanitary company, but in the large cities there are many companies involved in this activity. In rural areas, the activity of waste collection from the population and economic units is not organized, excepting the rural areas located near the cities. It is estimated that only 5% of the rural population benefits of these services (PNG, 2004). The waste collecting in Romania is done in containers supplied by the sanitation operator. To this end, there are used 4 m 3 containers, 1.1 m 3 euro bins (poubelles) on wheels, and also poubelles of 120L and 240L placed in specially arranged places. They are usually emptied mechanically (Table 2). Table 2. The situation of the recipients for municipal waste collection (1999) (PNG, 2004) Recipient types Number Euro bins 143,720 Metallic bins 112,862 Containers 29,914 Bags 149,872 Other recipients 47,480 Total 483,848 455

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 In the areas with individual houses there are used personal containers, improvised most of the times, of different sizes, property of the owner, that have to be emptied manually, or containers supplied by the operator (Porfiriu, 2005). There are seldom used uncovered 4 m 3 containers, usually employed to transport the earth from construction or the debris resulted from demolitions and which now are transported with special vehicles, unloaded directly at the landfill. These containers are very old (before 1990), out of order, inconvenient and uneconomical. Only sporadically can be seen containers (poubelles painted in different colors or special containers) for separate collecting of recyclable materials (Bucharest, Iasi, Timisoara, Ramnicu Valcea, Slatina, Pitesti, Buzau). These containers usually belong to the operators. The recyclable materials are temporarily stored in certain locations that do not have special technical equipment so that they can be prepared for their handing over to the Collecting Centers of revaluating materials. In the last years the separate collection was introduced in Romania only as pilot projects. For example in Iasi the project aimed to recover the paper and cardboard waste. The project budget was USD 50,000. The pilot project focused on a certain pilot area containing economic units in the city center for one year (1999-2000). Over 80 tones of paper and cardboard waste were collected. The paper was sold after a sorting process or bulk pressed in packs. The reduced quantity of paper and cardboard waste separately collected was due to the economical unit s lack of motivation. Because the paper sorting process needs a minimum of 10,000 tones/year to be an economically feasible solution, the separate collection did not continue or develop to the city or county level (PNG, 2004). 2.4. Situation of the landfills In 1998, in Romania there were 250 landfills for urban waste. Unlike 1990, many small landfills have been closed and some of the large landfills have been cleaned. In 2004, 251 landfills for municipal waste were functioning, out of which: - 15 complying landfills; - 236 non-complying landfills. In 2005, 3 complying waste municipal landfills started to function and 4 non-complying landfills were closed (SOP, 2006). Regarding the 116 not dangerous landfills: - 11 landfills fulfill the requirements of Directive 1999/31/EC; - 4 landfills will fulfill the requirements by 2009; - 101 landfills that now are not conform to the requirements will be gradually closed (36 landfills will stop depositing on 31.12.2006, 42 landfills between 01.01.2007 and 16.07.2009, and 23 landfills, using waste hydro-transport installation will be closed down by the end of the transition period- 16.07.2017) (PNG, 2004). Out of the total 18 complying landfills, 11 had been built before the European norms regarding landfills were introduced into the Romanian legislation, but they comply from the construction point of view with these norms (Constanţa, Chiajna, Brăila, Piatra Neamţ, Sighişoara, Sibiu Cristian, Ploieşti-Boldeşti, Vidra, Glina, Băicoi and Câmpina-Băneşti). They do not require major investments in order to meet the standards; the costs necessary for the improvement of the operation and monitoring activities were estimated to about 3.5 million Euro. The other 7 were built according to EU norms and they began to operate during 2003, 2004 and 2005 (Braşov, Buzău- Gălbinaşi, Arad, Slobozia, Costineşti, Oradea, Craiova). The investment costs necessary to ensure compliance of the existing municipal landfills have been estimated to Euro 1,775 million (SOP, 2006). Today there are 13 authorized ecological landfills: Constanta (Navodari), Sighisoara, Chiajna, Vidra and Glina for Bucharest, Boldesti- Scaeni for Ploiesti, Baicoi, Banesti, Piatra Neamt, Sibiu, Braila, Buzau, Sacele for Brasov county and it is in an advanced stage of implementation another objective in Mofleni for Craiova county, waiting to be opened soon (Porfiriu, 2005). Two public authorities obtained ISPA funds for the implementation of integrated waste management systems: in Ramnicu Valcea and Piatra Neamt. The opening of these two objectives is scheduled for 2006-2007. Other municipalities have opted for the association in public-private partnerships and the realization of regional projects for waste management: Mures and Calarasi- Ialomita counties, Arad, Oradea, Craiova Town (Porfiriu, 2005). Fig. 1 illustrates the situation of landfilling in Romania from different projects. Apart from the landfills in urban areas in Romania there are 2,686 dumping sites in rural areas, the most having a surface of 1 ha. The closure and cleaning of these spaces will be done until 16 July 2009, in parallel with the extension of collection services in rural areas, the organization of transport and transfer systems and construction of zonal landfills (PNG, 2004; SOP, 2006). As regards the landfill of waste, the following objectives are established (IP, 2004): reduction of the quantities of waste going to landfills (by preventing generation, material and energetically recovery); reduction of the quantities of biodegradable waste going to landfills (introducing the separate collection and recovery of certain types of municipal waste and mechanical biological treatment of the municipal landfilled waste); 456

Solid waste in Romania Fig. 4. The situation of landfills in Romania in 2003 (Porfiriu, 2005) providing the conditions for the landfill of the hazardous treated waste in order to reduce its hazardous content; implementation of the waste management plans both at county and regional level. 2.5. European regulations for waste management and transposition in Romanian legislation EU waste management legislation falls into three main categories: - Framework provisions on such matters as legal definitions, waste plans, requirements for the statutory authorization of waste facilities and the regulatory control over waste movements; - Operational standards for particular types of waste management facilities, such as landfills and incinerators; - Initiatives affecting priority waste streams, such as packaging waste and end-of-life vehicles. The last few years have seen a switch of emphasis away from the former two options to the final category. The most relevant European regulations on waste are: - Directive 75/439 on the Disposal of Waste Oils - Directive 75/442 on Waste - Directive 91/157 on Batteries and Accumulators - Directive 91/689 on Hazardous Waste - Regulation 259/93 on the Supervision and Control of Shipments of Waste within, into and out of the European Community - Directive 94/62 on Packaging and Packaging Waste - Directive 96/59 on the Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polychlorinated Terphenyls (PCBs/PCTs) - Directive 96/61 concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control - Directive 99/31 on the Landfill of Waste - Regulation 1420/99 establishing Rules and Control Procedures to apply to Shipments to Certain Non-OECD Countries of Certain Types of Waste - Regulation 1547/99 determining the Control Procedures under Council Regulation 259/93 to apply to shipments of Certain Waste to Certain Countries to which OECD Decision C(92)39 final does not apply - Directive 2000/53 on End-of-Life Vehicles - Directive 2000/76 on the Incineration of Waste - Decision 2000/532 on a List of Wastes and Hazardous Wastes - Regulation 2037/2000 on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer - Regulation 1774/2002 laying Down Health rules concerning Animal by-products not intended for Human Consumption - Regulation 2150/2002 on Waste Statistics - Directive 2002/96 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment - Directive 2002/95 on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment 457

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 They are transposed in Romanian legislation as follows: Framework Directive no. 75/442/EEC on waste, amended by Directive no. 91/156/EEC Law no. 426/2001 amending Emergency Ordinance no 78/2000 regarding waste regime Government Decision 123/2003 regarding the amending of National Plan for Waste Management Directive no. 91/686/EEC regarding hazardous waste; Directive no. 75/439/EEC regarding waste oil, amended by Directive no. 87/101/EEC and Directive no. 91/692/EEC; Government Decision No. 662/2001 regarding waste oil management, completed and modified by Government Decision no. 441/2002; Directive no. 91/692/EEC regarding batteries and accumulators that contain certain dangerous substances; Directive no. 93/86/EC regarding battery labeling; Government Decision no. 1057/2001 regarding the regime of batteries and accumulators that contain dangerous substances; Directive no. 99/31/EC regarding waste storing; Government Decision no. 162/2002 regarding waste storing; Order of the Ministry of Waters and Environment Protection No. 1147/2002 regarding the amending of Technical Normative for waste incineration; Directive no. 2000/76/EC regarding waste incineration; Government Decision no. 128/2002 regarding waste incineration; Order of the Ministry of Waters and Environment Protection No.1215/10.01.2003 regarding the amending of the Normative for waste incineration; Directive no. 94/62/EC regarding packing and packing waste; Government Decision no. 173/2000 regarding the regulation of special regime for the administration and the control of polychlorinated biphenyls and of other similar compounds; Order of the Ministry of Waters and Environment Protection No. 279/2002 regarding the establishment of Technical Secretary for Management and Control of Chemical Compounds designated in the Waste and Hazardous Chemical Substances Management Department; Decision no. 2000/532/CE, amended by Decision no. 2001/119 regarding the waste list (that replaces Decision no. 94/3/CE regarding the waste list and Decision no. 94/904/CE regarding hazardous waste list); Government Decision no.856/2002 regarding the evidence of waste management and the amending of the waste list, including hazardous waste; Regulation no. 259/93 regarding the control of waste transportation in, from and to European Community; Government Decision no.1357/2002 regarding the pointing of the responsible authorities with the control and monitoring of the waste import, export and transit; Directive no. 86/278/EEC regarding environment protection and soil in particular, when sludge from the water purifying plants is used in agriculture; Directive no. 2002/96/EC regarding electric and electronic equipment waste (EEEW); Directive no. 2000/53/EC regarding taken out of use vehicles; Besides the European regulations mentioned, the Community Aquis in the field of waste management also contains: The Directives regarding waste from titanium dioxide industry (78/176/EEC, 82/883/EEC, 92/112/EEC)- the transposing is not necessary because in Romania this industry doesn t exist; The Regulation regarding the supervising and control of waste transport (259/93/EEC)- the transposing is not necessary because it will automatically activate and it will be directly applied in the moment of Romania s accession to the European Union, respecting the transition periods requested for waste importing (4 years-green list; 13 years - yellow and red list). Apart from the Community Aquis contents and framework regulations for the environment protection, the Romanian legislation also contains a series of regulations regarding waste management, as follows: - Government Decision no. 87/2001 regarding towns sanitation public services, amended by Law no. 139/2002; - Government Decision no. 21/2002 regarding towns and rural places administration; - Government Decision no. 188/2002 for amending the regulations regarding the conditions for discharging the waste waters in the aquatic medium; 458

Solid waste in Romania - Order of the Ministry of Health No. 536/1997, for amending the Technical Regulation regarding the management of the waste resulted from medical activities and the Methodology of data collecting for the national data-base regarding the waste resulted from medical activities; - Law no. 98/1994 regarding the establishing and sanctioning of the contraventions to the legal regulations of hygiene and public health. 3. Romanian case of waste management and treatment In Romania waste statistics were introduced in 1993 using a Romanian waste catalogue (1993 95). Since 1995 the waste statistics have been based on the European waste catalogue, although the official adoption of the European classification system was only issued in Government Ordinance No 155 in 1999. The European waste list has been transposed into Romanian law in 2002 by Government Decision No 856/2002 on keeping records on waste and on introducing a new waste list. The first survey according to the European waste list is to be carried out in 2003 with 2002 as the reference year. Romania has collected data on waste generation regularly since 1993. Since 1995, data has been collected according to a classification based on the European waste catalogue (EWC), and the methodology has been improved and adapted to European requirements steadily. As a result, a comprehensive and homogeneous set of data is available from 1995 to 2000 without major breaks in time series. The latest data reported to Eurostat refer to 2000. Additional information is available from the draft national strategy for waste management in Romania (Eurostat, 2004) 3.1. European aquis in Romania concerning waste management In European aquis from Romania is very well specified that no-dangerous industrial solid waste disposal it will be possible until 31.07.2009 in existing conform or no conform landfills or in conform no hazardous landfill from urban areas. No-dangerous industrial solid waste for which no other valorization method are not available, for example treatment or direct elimination it is not feasible, will be disposal only in conform landfills for no-dangerous solid waste until 2009. In the same time Romania intent to reduce the solid waste volume who is no conform disposal, from the estimated quantity 3.75 millions of tones in 2004 until to 2.2 millions of tones in 2013. In 2004 it was disposal approximately 383.500 tones industrial solid waste. After the negotiations for Chapter 22 Environment, Romania obtained transition periods until December 31 st 2013 for getting the performance target in reutilization/valorization program. For this valorization/treatment target (25%, respectively 50%) and in the same time the specified targets for each packing categories and increase until 2013, Romania must develop new installation for recycle and recovery in order to reach a proficient waste packing management is necessary to have an appropriate system for selective collection of the municipal solid waste (PNG, 2004). Out of the 42 counties, 7 counties are implementing integrated waste management projects, co- financed by ISPA Program. Another 11 counties have built new facilities, especially waste landfills, inside public-private partnerships. Despite all these, waste production in Romania is still at a high rate (approximately 34.08 million tones in 2002); the recycling percentage is still low (approximately 20% of the entire waste quantity in 2002); selective collecting is mostly implemented by pilot centre. In addition, the most stringent of problems is represented by the large number of old waste landfills, both in urban areas and in rural ones, which affect the environment and human health and, as a consequence, they must be closed as being non-conform with the legal requirements. On the other hand, the investment supply in the public services infrastructure also aims to eliminate in this sector the disparities between different regions (Puscasu, 2005). 3.2. National Strategy and Plan for Waste Management 3.2.1. Short presentation According with the EU requirements, the national strategic documents for waste management contain two main components, as follow: - the Strategy for waste management the frame setting the Romanian objectives in the field of waste management; - The National Waste Management Plan representing the implementing plan of the Strategy containing details regarding the actions necessary to be develop to reach the objectives set in the Strategy, the way to develop these actions, including terms and responsibilities. Based on the Framework Directive and Directive no. 1996/61/EC (on Integrated Pollution Prevention And Control - IPPC), a first National Waste Management Strategy was developed that brought together the sectoral strategies of the ministries involved. The National Waste Management Strategy was developed by the Ministry of Environment and Water Management, according to the responsibilities reverting to this 459

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 institution following the transposition of European legislation in the field of waste management and according to the provisions of Emergency Government Ordinance no. 78/2000 on the regime of waste, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 426/2001. The strategy was drafted for the interval 2003 2013, and it is to be revised on a regular basis, according to technical progress and environmental protection requirements. The National Waste Management Strategy aims to create the necessary framework for the development and implementation of an environmentally and economically sound integrated waste management system. The County Waste Management Plans were also developed starting with 2001. Based on the National Strategy and the County Plans, the first National Waste Management Plan was developed, as a stage-level plan that was adopted by Government Decision no. 123/2003. The National Waste Management Plan was elaborated based on the European and national legal previsions in this field Framework Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC, Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, transposed in the Romanian legislation through the Governmental Emergency Ordinance 78/2000 regarding the waste regime, approved with modification and amendments through the Law No. 426/2001. The elaboration of The National Waste Management Plan has as aim to establish the necessary frame to develop and implement an integrated management system for waste management, efficient from economic and ecologic point of view. The National Waste Management Plan was elaborated in the period 2003 2013. In accordance with the provisions contained into the Article 8(1) alin.7 of the GEO No. 78/2000 regarding the wastes regime, approved with modifications, through the Law No. 426/2001, The National Waste Management Plan will be periodically reviewed considering the technical progress and the provisions for the environmental protection, with a periodicity of less then 5 years. These national waste management documents were later improved by the contribution of extended working groups, whose membership included representatives of the central authorities, employers and professional associations, associations of local authorities, universities and NGOs, as well as German, French, British and Japanese experts involved in PHARE twinning programmes and the technical assistance programme offered by JICA. 3.2.1. Elimination and recycling of municipal waste According to PNG, (2004), waste management data for Romania refers to two important waste categories: municipal waste and similar generated in the urban and rural areas (domestic waste from the population and from the economic units, waste from the sanitary services, domestic wastewater treatment sludge, construction and demolition waste, excepting the industrial waste) industrial and agricultural waste, including the mining industry waste and the waste from the energy production. In 1998 2002 the ratio of these two categories varied from one year to another, the average being 6% municipal wastes and 94% industrial waste (Table 3). Table 3. Municipal waste generation in 1998 2002 (tones) (Source: ICIM waste database) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1 Municipal waste 6,325,570 7,543,399 8,658,191 8,268,057 8,810,358 1.1 from the population 2,960,671 3,802,208 3,422,355 3,578,450 3,648,864 1.2 from the economic units 1,268,859 1,432,622 1,955,731 1,486,486 1,577,597 Total quantity of mixed collected 4,229,530 5,234,830 5,378,086 5,064,936 5,226,461 waste 1.3 Separate collection n.d.a. n.d.a. 122,681 491,916 1.4 Voluminous n.d.a. n.d.a. 34,982 56,174 1.5 from parks and gardens n.d.a. n.d.a. 1,232,900 136,947 212,745 1.6 from the markets n.d.a. n.d.a. 106,891 124,922 1.7 from the streets 415,640 491,886 612,558 752,446 1.8 uncollected 1,680,400 1,816,683 2,047,205 2,189,062 1,945,694 2 Urban sludge (U.S.) 122,865 132,053 141,342 145,879 146,461 3 Construction waste 319,560 397,290 162,140 407,575 621,253 TOTAL 6,767,995 8,072,742 8,961,673 8,821,511 9,578,072 Note: n.d.a. = no data available D.M. = dry material Source: ICIM waste database 460

Solid waste in Romania The quantity of municipal waste generated varies from one year to another and, in the last 6 years, a general ascending trend was recorded determined both by the increase of the consumption and by the increase of the population covered by public sanitation services in centralized system. Data on generation and management of municipal waste in 2004 are presented in Table 4. The biggest part of the total municipal waste is represented by the household waste and similar waste, generated from households, respectively from economic units, commercial activities, offices, public institutions, sanitary establishments. Table 4. Municipal waste generated in 2004 in Romania (SOP, 2006) Waste type Generate d waste Waste recovery Disposed waste Collected household waste 5,161 74 5,087 and similar waste Waste from municipal 840 9.5 830.5 services (including sludge from wastewater treatment plant Constructions and 715 0.5 714.5 demolition waste Non-collected waste 1,482 0 1,482 (estimated on the basis of the average generation ratio) Total municipal waste 8,198 84 8,114 Their composition has varied in the last years, the biodegradable waste representing the major part (Fig. 5). In 2004, the biodegradable waste represented about 49% of the household waste collected; the glass and plastics represent also important quantities (SOP, 2006). Fig. 5. The average composition of household waste collected (5,161 million tonnes) (SOP, 2006) Municipal waste is still stored, in a higher grade, while selective collecting and waste recycling are still insufficient. Regarding the waste recycling and revaluation, the National Plan of Waste Management established certain targets for different waste categories (Wehry and Orlescu, 2000; PNG, 2004): material and energetic revaluation of approximately 50% of biodegradable waste by 2013; energetic revaluation of approximately 50% of the wood dust quantity by 2013; global revaluation of 50% and individual revaluation of 15% of plastic quantity by 2011; recycling of 22.5% of plastic by 2013; recycling of 60%, according to the weight, of paper and cardboard and 50% of metal, by 2008; recycling of 15% of wood, by 2011; recycling of 60% of glass, by 2013. Only six municipalities developed systems for waste selective collecting and composting of biodegradable waste. The treatment of biodegradable municipal waste is taken in view only at pilot projects level (Nicu, 2001; Nicu and Apostu, 2005). 3.2.2. Packaging waste In the last years, private economic operators started activities of cardboard and PETs supported collection. In some localities, the activity of placing certain deposit/collection points where the population can deposit (with or without remuneration) wastepaper, cardboard, glass, plastic has started. In Romania, there are authorized institutions in glass, paper and cardboard and plastic industry, which started to take the waste from the collection points in order to recycle and/or recovery. In some cities, pilot stations for biodegradable waste composting were set up. A special attention must be given to the prevention of packaging waste generation, ensuring their revaluation/recycling, as well as minimization of the risk determined by the presence of hazardous substances in the packaging (Gavrilescu et al., 2005; Gavrilescu and Nicu, 2005; Gavrilescu, 2006). Separate collecting, sorting, processing and finale recycling of packing waste will be carried out so that a packing waste recycling rate should reach 55,1% and a packing waste revaluating rate of 62% (785.225 tones) by the end of 2013 (Wehry and Orlescu, 2000). 3.2.3. Hazardous waste The management o hazardous waste has become a worldwide problem. This waste category has the biggest impact over human health and the environment. A proficient waste management represents a complex problem and requires a coherent and methodical approach, able to pursue their prevention in the first place. The prevention of hazardous waste producing must be scheduled according to the raw materials finite products and implied technologies management. The prevention of waste producing not only would reduce waste management costs for the concerned companies, 461

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 but would also save energy and resources, leading to much lower production costs. Particularly for small and medium businesses it is necessary the applying of the environment protection measures. Romania doesn t have a developed service net regarding hazardous waste management to ensure the services of hazardous waste collecting and/or the revaluating/treatment. In Romania there are a small number of services operators for hazardous waste management. They usually ensure the collecting, without transportation services, because of the insufficient transportation capacity. The transportation of hazardous waste is ensured by the waste producers (Wehry and Orlescu, 2000). With all these, more than 89% of the total hazardous waste quantity is generally stores or stocked near the generator source, with minimal transportation costs. Exceptions are medical wastes, waste oil, collected and transported waste in order to be treated/revaluated and/or final disposal. Romania must develop a hazardous waste management system that is able to fulfill the following objectives (SOP, 2006): the reducing of the possibilities of hazardous waste storing in the same place with other industrial waste; the developing of waste collecting and transportation services to the authorized facilities of treatment, recycling and/or final disposal, to the interest of the industry; collecting and transportation activities regulation and control, in order to ensure hazardous waste s safe transit; the avoiding of excess of regulations and of the redundant regarding the regulations and the control. As to wastes from constructions and demolitions, in Romania, today, their total quantity is smaller compared to the member states of the European Union. Only a small percent of the waste from constructions and demolitions is separately collected and stored, thus resulting small quantities in this category. Generally, this type of waste is reused. There is a black market of re-used waste from constructions and demolitions because of the high costs of constructing materials and the population s growing needs. Concurrent to the economical development of the country, the activities of constructing, reconstructing and renovating of the existing buildings and the demolition of the old ones that cannot be renovated, will lead to the substantial growth of the quantity of waste from constructions and demolitions and to the change of their quality. Thus it is necessary the promotion of investing in re-using, recycling, treatment for their adequate recovery/elimination, by strict segregation of construction waste from demolition waste in all regions (heavy urbane, urbane and rural) and their utilization after pre-treatment in road rearranging or other activities. Regarding the medical waste, hospitals must act in order to minimize the total quantity of this type of hazardous waste. For final disposal of medical waste the three existing private installations must be improved and the old incinerators from inside the hospitals must be shut down, in steps, according to the existence of zonal authorized hazardous waste incinerators. For the pre-treatment of hazardous medical waste there will be implemented mobile or stationary specific technologies (Wehry and Orlescu, 2000). As to the electric and electronic equipment waste it is necessary to be given a special attention to the developing of a selective collecting system, as well as to ensure optimal solutions for stocking, treatment, revaluating, recycling and disposal, towards a rational ecological management. The collecting of electric and electronic equipment waste is made taking into consideration the value of the contained recyclable materials. Across the country there are approximately 300 economical agents authorized to collect metallic waste from both individuals and juridical persons, at least one of them existing in each county. They collect electric and electronic equipment waste, especially the large ones and with a high content of recyclable metal (such as washing machines, boilers, refrigerators). There are no specialized centers for selective collecting of the electric and electronic equipment waste. The treatment is realized by disassembling, cutting, balling to the end of revaluating the metal. There is one disintegrator in Bucharest, with a capacity of 8000 tones/month, that helps treat certain categories of electric and electronic equipment waste, with a high content of recyclable metal (refrigerators, washing machines, boilers etc.). Today in Romania there are no recycling/revaluating solutions for: activated glass; plastic; textiles, resulted from disassembling/treatment of electric and electronic equipment. In Romania, today, there are no solutions for construction of waste integrated systems in less developed regions/counties and applying the hierarchy of waste, (Gavrilescu and Nicu, 2005). The end of this strategic compound is the improvement of the waste management standards, according to the hierarchy of waste (prevention, selective collecting, revaluation and recycling, treatment and disposal, the closing of those nonconform landfills). Romania has specific commitments to this end. The accepted transition periods for reaching the European standards regarding waste management, assume (PNG, 2004): 462

Solid waste in Romania non-hazardous waste landfills situated in urban areas- transition period until 2017; temporary stocking industrial hazardous waste- 2009; industrial non-hazardous waste landfillstransition period until 2013. In order to respect the mentioned commitments, there will be implemented integrated waste management projects, according to the National Plan and the Regional Plans of Waste Management. Those projects will cover at least the main urban and rural agglomerations, at county level. The target beneficiaries are represented by local/county authorities. The integrated waste management systems will include the following actions: ensuring of the adequate facilities for the collecting and transportation of wastes in the aimed towns; building of adequate treatment and disposal facilities; closing of non-conform landfills that are dangerous for human health and the environment. 3.3. Waste management in Iasi county 3.3.1. Overview The quantities of waste collected and transported by the operators of sanitation services fluctuate accordingly to the season, the number of the population (especially during holidays), to the collecting frequency and last but not the least, to the passing of the beneficiaries from one operator to another. These wastes have a fluctuating structure and composition (Tables 5 and 6). Table 5. Average composition of the municipal solid waste (Source: Iaşi City Hall) (Source: SALUBRIS Iaşi) Glass % Metals, % Paper Cardboard % Plastics, % Textiles % Organic materials % Others, % Table 6. Average composition of the municipal solid waste in the actual disposal from Tomesti in 2001 2002 Fraction % from total quantity Organic waste 32.94 Fine particles 30.82 Other incombustibles 12.66 Plastics 7.48 Glass 3.64 Paper 3.35 Textiles 2.41 Sanitary textiles 1.74 Cardboard 1.78 Metals 0.99 Other combustibles 0.86 Composites 1.13 Special waste 0.20 Total 100 Total 5.13 3.64 0.99 7.48 4.15 57.59 21.02 100 3.3.2. Selective collection of municipal solid waste in Iasi The infrastructure of this program is to place in every collecting center two containers for differential collecting of paper/cardboard and PET/plastics. In Iasi there are 1300 collecting center for municipal waste from population. 3.3.3. Some figures The generation rate for urban solid waste per inhabitant and day, taking into calculation the quantity of urban solid waste (municipal waste + street waste) for 2002 is: (665.776 m 3 x 0.3 tones/ m 3 ) : 365 days = 0.512 tones/inhabitant/year 0.512 tones/inhabitant/year x 1000 kg/tone : 365 days = 1.4 kg/inhabitant/day If there are taken into calculation other types of stored waste in 2002 (trivial industrial waste resulted from economical agents and street waste), it results a medium rate of waste generation in 2002 of: (707.421 m 3 x 0.3 tonnes/m 3 ) : 390.000 inhabitants = 0.544 tones/inhabitant/year 0.544 tones/inhabitant/year x 1000 kg/tones : 365days = 1.49 kg/inhabitant/day For the next 20 years there is foreseen an increase of the quantity of generated waste, reaching a generation rate of 1.6-1.8 kg/inhabitant/day, as a result of: the increasing of industrialization extent in Iasi; the increasing of the tourists number, as it is known that Iasi is a county with an important tourist potential; the increasing of the packaging volume and of packaging waste; the increasing of the citizens welfare; the improving of the waste management in Iasi. For the first stage of the project implementation for Iasi metropolitan area, the following estimate can be made: 1. population: approximately 455.268 inhabitants, from which: 2. Iasi county: 375.750 inhabitants; 3. rural areas 79.518 inhabitants 4. generation rate: for Iasi county: 1.70 kg/ inhabitant/day = 0.620 tones/inhabitant/year; for rural areas: 0.46 kg/ inhabitant/day = 0.168 tones/inhabitant/year; the total quantity of waste forecasted to be annually generated: 821.080 m 3. of which: 463

Schiopu et al./ Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 6 (2007), 5, 451-465 - from Iasi county: 375.750 inhabitants x 0.620 tones/inhabitant/year = 232.965 tones/year = 776.550 m 3 - from rural areas: 79.518 inhabitants x 0.168 tones/inhabitant/year = 13.359 tones/year = 44.530 m 3 As a result of the implementation of national strategy requirements and of the new regulations regarding the integrated waste management according to the European Union directives in the field, there is anticipated a diminishing of the waste quantity, related to the total generated and collected volume, which will end up directly at the designed treatment and stocking installation - the long-term target (Fig. 6) (CE Directive, 1994a; CE Directive, 1994b; Ianculescu and Ianculescu, 2002; Ilie et al., 2005; Ilie and Gavrilescu, 2006). Fig. 6. The relation between generated and collected waste in perspective, as a result of the implementation of national strategy requirements 4. Conclusions The fundamental principles behind the Community Strategy are set out in a three-level waste hierarchy. This describes the three fundamental concepts behind the EU waste strategy, which are in order of preference: - waste prevention - waste recovery (including re-use, recycling and energy recovery, but with a preference to materials recovery) - waste disposal (which includes incineration without energy recovery and landfill) These concepts are applied not only to enhance levels of environmental protection, but also to deal with the loss of valuable resources implicit in the existence of discarded residuals. In order to attain the goals of these principles in Romania as a whole, as well as in its counties, it is necessary to achieve a significant strategic waste management planning on a regionalized basis, and to ensure a dramatic reduction in confidence on landfill, by encouraging the integrated waste management approaches, which make use of a range of waste treatment options to carry ambitious recycling and recovery objectives. Waste management activities are based on the following principles: the principle of protection of primary resources, the principle of preliminary measures correlated with the use of BATNEEC, the prevention principle, the polluter pays principle correlated with the principle of producer responsibility and of user responsibility, the principle of substitution, the principle of proximity correlated with the principle of autonomy, the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of integration. The achievement of national and European objectives in the field of waste management practically calls for the involvement of the entire society, represented by: central and local public authorities; waste generators; professional associations and research institutes; the civil society. It seems to be necessary a greater participation of the private sector in the provision of waste management services. In addition, a more effective and equitable system of waste charging to stimulate waste minimization and recovery, together with a greater utilization of legislative initiatives to the scope of producer responsibility initiatives to particular waste streams. Also, the mobilizations of public support and participation will generate the framework for expanding awareness towards the waste management problem. References Burnley S.J., (2007), A review of municipal solid waste composition in the United Kingdom, Waste Management, 27, 1274-1285. CE Directive, (1994a), Council Directive 94/67/EC of 16 December 1994 on the incineration of hazardous waste, Official Journal L 365, 31/12/1994 P. 0034-0045 CE Directive, (1994b), European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal L 365, 31/12/1994 P. 0010 0023. Caruso C., Colorni A., Paruccini M., (1993), The regional urban solid waste management system: A modelling approach, European Journal of Operational Research, 70, 16-30. Costi P., Minciardi R., Robba M., Rovatti M., Sacile R., (2004), An environmentally sustainable decision model for urban solid waste management, Waste Management, 24, 277-95. EEA, (1998), Europe s Environment: The Second Assessment, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Eriksson O., Carlsson Reich M., Frostell B., Björklund A., Assefa G., Sundqvist J. -O., Granath J., Baky A., Thyselius L., (2005), Municipal solid waste management from a systems perspective, Journal of Cleaner Production, 13, 241-252. EUR, (1999), Overview of the Environment and Health in Europe in the 1990s, Report, EUR/ICP/EHCO 02 02 05/6, On line at: http://www.euro.who.int/document/e66792.pdf. 464