COCOON Project

1. Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2017
COCOON
Coordinator: Annick Vastiau OVAM: Eddy Wille
annick.vastiau@i-cleantechvlaanderen.be eddy.wille@ovam.be
+32 471 90 36 36 +32 475 98 91 09

2. 2
Interreg Europe: overall
To improve the implementation of policies and
programmes for regional development, by promoting
exchange of experience and policy learning among
actors of regional relevance.
For COCOON: policy related to landfill management
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON partners
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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Objectives
Overall objective of COCOON is to develop, integrate
and improve relevant regional policy instruments with
regard to landfill management (LfM)
 The first sub-objective of COCOON envisages the
improvement of the existing soil policy including
regulatory aspects to enforce LfM implementation.
Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands
 The second sub-objective is linked to the
improvement of the ERDF operational programmes
(OP).
Andalucia (Spain), Brandenburg (Germany), Cyprus
and Malta
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON: activities
Phase 1 : interregional learning (2017-2019)
 exchange of experience among project partners
 elaborating a regional action plan (at the end of
phase 1)
 Involvement of regional stakeholders!
Phase 2: monitoring of the action plans (2020-2021)
 Monitoring the action plans being implemented
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON policy instruments
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2017
Region Policy instrument
Andalucia (ES) ERDF Operational Programme 2014-2020 for Andalucia
Priority Axis 6: To preserve and protect the environment and to
promote resource efficiency
Brandenburg
(DE)
Operational program of the State of Brandenburg for the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the funding period 2014-
2020 (OP ERDF Brandenburg 2014-2020) Specific Objective 11:
Reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gases at landfill sites
Cyprus Competitiveness and sustainable development 2014-2020. priority:
Management of solid waste and water resources, axis on closing
and rehabilitation of landfills
Flanders (BE) Soil Remediation Decree
Malta OP 1 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our
challenges, SO 1 Increase recycling of waste and reduce the volume
of waste going to landfill through investment in waste management
related infrastructure including the rehabilitation of closed landfills
The
Netherlands
Former and closed landfill sites in the Environmental Protection Act.
(Wet milieubeheer) Chapter 8.

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EU policy and Landfill Mining
Status 7th February 2018 : no specific legislation/initiatives on landfill mining
at EU-level.
 Limited ‘Awareness’ of the innovative concept of Enhanced Landfill
Mining but improvement due to :
• ELFM-consortium Flanders : international conferences on ELFM 2010,
2013;
• Eurelco : meeting delegation EC 29 April 2014;
• 2 members EP-Eurelco : ELFM-seminar in European Parliament 20
October 2015;
• Eurelco : international conference on ELFM 2016
 Still restraints and prudency with respect to this new concept of ELFM :
• Landfills are a final disposal and therefore static features: end of story;
• Landfills are the least preferable option in waste management so why
paying further attention to this ‘bad’ option;
• Large scale mining involves potential adverse impacts on environment
and human health;

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EU policy and Landfill Mining
Status 7th February 2018 : no specific legislation/initiatives on landfill mining
at EU-level.
So far the bad news :
 ELFM-research in 2016 :
• MSCA-project New-Mine approved (first ETN-project on landfill mining);
• Interreg Europe project Cocoon approved (first Interreg project on landfill
mining);
• # Eurelco-members exceeds 50 partners and set up partnerships to
introduce 2 new proposals on landfill mining (Rawfill: approved, Magnolia:
94% n.a.; adapted project Gremlin)
 ELFM-policy making at EU-level in 2016 and 2017:
• Initiatives on circular economy results in revision and amendements on
current EU-legislation;
• Revision of Landfill directive : proposals on ELFM² introduced from:
 European Parliament : amendement EP-member Mark Demesmaeker;
 European Counsel : amendement Belgium (OVAM);
 European Commission: no amendement from European Commission

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EU policy and Landfill Mining
 amendement nr 138 art 5.7b (EP-member):
• the following paragraph 7b is added: In Article 5, the
following paragraph is added: 7b. The Commission shall
further examine the feasibility of proposing a regulatory
framework for "enhanced landfill mining" so as to permit
the retrieval of secondary raw materials that are present in
existing landfills. By 2025 Member States shall map
existing landfills and indicate their potential for enhanced
landfill mining and share information.
• Justification : Enhanced Landfill Mining does not only
enable the recovery of valuable materials which can be
brought back into the cycle, but also allows for recovering
land area, taking into account that a large part of the EU's
500.000 historic landfills are situated in a (semi-urban
environment.)

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EU policy and Landfill Mining
 Amendement 8a art 1 and 13 (OVAM-Belgium):
• (…)This reduction on landfilled waste should be accompanied by an
incentive on the rehabilitation of former landfills. The estimated number of
500.000 landfills in the EU represent an unaddressed reserve of valuable
resources such as materials, energy and land. The sustainable resource
management of landfills should focus on a comprehensive inventorisation of
landfills and the management of this stock in a long-term perspective and
the interim use.
• Art. 1: (…) and in approaching closed landfills from a circular economy
perspective, to identify and manage their potential resources such as
materials, energy and land in a sustainable way.
• Justification : Currently, closed landfills are seen as static features which
solely need to be managed in terms of potential environmental and health
risks. Approaching landfills from a circular economy perspective, however,
reveals that these sites have the potential to offer resources such as
materials, energy and land. The estimated number of 500.000 landfills in
the EU represent an unaddressed reserve. Bringing landfills back in a
circular economy as a resource is a main challenge.

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EU policy and Landfill Mining
 Amendement 8a art 1 and 13 (OVAM-Belgium):
• Article 13 : Closure, and after-care procedures and resource
management.
• (…)
• (e) Member states produce an inventory of all existing landfills
2 years after entry into force of this Directive. By 2030, the data
collection should reach a 90% coverage of the existing landfills.
A decision support tool and long-term resource management
plan should be available in 2024, allowing the member states to
estimate the resource potential and environmental risks.
• Justification : The first steps in sustainable resource
management of landfills should focus on the comprehensive
inventorisation of landfills, with a view to the management of
this stock in a long-term perspective and for interim use.

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COCOON Questionnaire
Collect information with project partners about :
 Landfills
 Landfill management (LfM)
 Funding for LfM projects
 Policy issues
In order to :
 Better understand potential drivers and barriers for
LfM-implementation
 Detecting differences among regions
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON Questionnaire
First results:
 EU Landfill directive transposed into national
legislation by all member states;
 Former landfills do not comply systematically;
 Lack of information on former landfills;
 No specific legislation on Landfill management with
regard to active use and/or mining;
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON Questionnaire
Needs:
 Inventory of landfills -> RAWFILL : Enhanced
Inventory Framework
 Interpretation of inventories ->RAWFILL : DST
 Survey / exploration of landfills
->COCOON : best practices
->RAWFILL : LFM-guide
 No specific legislation on Landfill management with
regard to active use and/or mining;
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON
Inventory EIF-RAWFILL
 Description of landfills in terms of
- environmental & risk issues;
- available dormant materials (economic evaluation
of resource-recovery potential of each landfill)
 Standard inventory structure to stimulate NWE
stakeholders to integrate resource data;
 Demonstration of added-value of more cost-effective
and more exhaustive characterisation methods
 Implementation by 25 LF-managers
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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Resource Management version
2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
Landfill Mining Urban Mining
Conceptual
European Model
Conceptual
Regional Model
Conceptual
Site Model
 Analysis of provided
information; vision
and policy
development on waste
and sustainable
materials
management;
 Data aggregation and
processing; delivering
information on
antropogenic
resources and
reserves;
 Data collection on
waste production and
landfills.

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COCOON
Interpretation of inventories- RAWFILL Decision Suporting Tool
 Objective : use of a standard information&decision for selecting
optimal LFM projects;
 Ranking tool integrating multiple aspects of LFM-projects;
 Two levels :
- selection : DST is a screening tool for projects with
a priori potential;
- Ranking tool : of pre-selected and fully investigated landfills
 Implementation by 25 LF by the end of the project
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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COCOON
Survey / exploration of landfills
->COCOON : best practice
->RAWFILL : guide
 Guide: stimulate NWE-stakeholders to integrate all
relevant data in their landfill inventories LT-effect
 Best practice handbooks COCOON : European
disemination by handbooks with 25 best practices
Mechelen (Belgium), 7/2/2018

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Project smedia
Thank you!
Questions welcome