Act No. 541 / 2020 Coll.

Waste Act

Valid Law Effective from 01.01.2021
541
THE LAW
of 1 December 2020
on waste
Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

BASIC PROVISIONS
§ 1
Purpose and subject matter of the adjustment
(1) The purpose of this Act is to ensure a high level of protection of the environment and human health and the sustainable use of natural resources by preventing and managing waste in accordance with the hierarchy of waste management in the current social capacity and economic acceptability, in order to achieve the objectives of the waste management set out in Annex 1 to this Act and to allow for a transition to the circular economy.
(2) This law implements the relevant European Unionregulations (1), following the directly applicable European UnionRegulations (2) and (3)
(a) rules on the prevention and management of waste,
(b) the rights and obligations of persons on waste management; and
(c) the competence of public authorities in waste management.
§ 2
Scope of the law
(1) This law does not apply to:
(a) emissions of air pollutants;
(b) radioactive waste;
(c) explosives, ammunition and ammunition;
(d) excrements, straw and other natural substances from agricultural production or forestry which:
1. do not exhibit any of the hazardous properties listed in the Annex directly applicable European Union provisions on hazardous properties of waste (3); and
2. are used in agriculture or forestry in accordance with the fertiliser law or for the production of energy by means of procedures or methods which do not harm the environment and do not endanger human health;
(e) uncontaminated soil and other natural material extracted during construction operations, provided that it is ensured that the material will be used in its natural state for the purposes of the construction in the place where it was extracted;
(f) sediment moved within surface waters for the purpose of water management, water management, flood prevention, mitigation of the effects of floods or droughts or soil reclamation, unless they have any of the hazardous properties listed in the Annex directly applicable European Union provisions on hazardous waste properties (3); and
(g) land in situ, including unextracted contaminated soil and buildings connected with the country with a solid basis.
(2) To the extent that they are governed by other legislation, they are excluded from the scope of this law.
(a) waste water;
(b) extractive waste;
(c) medicinal products, addicts, medicinal products containing addicts and drug precursors,
(d) dead bodies of animals which have died in a manner other than slaughter, including animals killed for the eradication of animal disease, which are disposed of in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1069 / 20094 of the European Parliament and of the Council),
(e) animal by-products and derived products4), with the exception of animal by-products and derived products intended for incineration or landfilling or use in biogas or composting plants;
(f) substances which are intended for use as feed materials in accordance with Article 3 (2) (g) of Regulation (EC) No 767 / 20095 of the European Parliament and of the Council and which are not consisting of or containing animal by-products; and
(g) end-of-life products.
§ 3
Waste management and its hierarchy
(1) Waste management means waste prevention, waste management, post-treatment of sites where waste is permanently stored, intermediate waste management and control.
(2) The waste management shall be based on a hierarchy of waste management according to which waste prevention is a priority and, if waste cannot be prevented, its preparation for reuse, recycling, other uses, including energy recovery, and, if not possible, its disposal.
(3) The interpretation and application of this Act must be consistent with the hierarchy of waste management.
(4) The application of waste management hierarchy shall take into account:
(a) the entire life cycle of products and materials, in particular with a view to reducing the environmental and human health effects of waste management;
(b) the precautionary principle and sustainability;
(c) technical feasibility and economic sustainability;
(d) the protection of resources, the environment, human health and economic and social impacts; and
(e) objectives, principles and measures of the Waste Management Plan of the Czech Republic.
(5) A derogation from the waste management hierarchy may be made in the case of waste which, taking into account the overall impacts of the life cycle of products and materials involving the generation and management of waste, is appropriate in view of the best environmental and human health outcome.
§ 4
Waste
(1) Waste is every movable thing a person gets rid of, has an intention or obligation to get rid of.
(2) It is considered that a person intends to dispose of a movable item if this item cannot be used for the original purpose.
(3) A person has an obligation to dispose of a movable item if:
(a) it does not use it or it is not possible to use it for its original purpose and at the same time this matter threatens the environment;
(b) has been discarded or withdrawn under another legislation (6); or
(c) has been produced in a production the primary objective of which was not to produce or obtain the case but is not a by-product pursuant to Paragraph 8 (1).
(4) In doubts as to whether a movable item is waste, the Regional Office shall, at the request of the owner of the movable item or of the person proving the legal interest, or on its own initiative, decide. A request under the first sentence may not be made where, in respect of the same movable case, an infringement or a remedy procedure is brought by the Czech Environmental Inspection Office ("the inspection ') or the municipal authority of a municipality with extended competence on the grounds that a person does not deal with the matter in accordance with this Act, the End-of-Life Act or Regulation (EC) No 1013 / 2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
§ 5
Waste producer
(1) The producer of the waste means:
(a) anyone whose activity produces waste;
(b) a natural person, whether legal or operating, carrying out waste treatment or other activity resulting in a change in the nature or composition of the waste; or
(c) a municipality from the moment when a person places the waste in accordance with § 59 and 60 at the place of the municipalities for that purpose.
(2) Where waste is generated by more than one person or by an activity carried out under a contract for the owner of the item which becomes waste, the producer of the waste shall be the person who physically carries out the activity in which the waste is generated. The producer of the waste shall be another person in accordance with the first sentence, where this results from a written contract concluded between those persons. The producer of the waste referred to in the first or second sentence shall be the owner of the waste generated at the latest at the time of its establishment.
(3) In the case of municipal waste and packaging waste, with the exception of household waste, the producer of such waste shall be the owner of the immovable property where it arises, where this results from a written contract with the person who would have been the producer of the waste referred to in paragraph 1 and shall, at the latest at the time of the generation of the waste, become the owner of the waste.
§ 6
Classification of waste
(1) Waste is included in
(a) categories of waste, either as hazardous waste or as other waste; and
(b) the type of waste defined in the Waste Catalogue.
(2) The Ministry of the Environment (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministry") provides for a Waste Catalogue and a procedure for the classification of waste according to the Waste Catalogue.
§ 7
Hazardous waste and other waste
(1) Hazardous waste is waste which:
(a) at least one of the hazardous properties listed in the Annex directly applicable to European Union provisions on hazardous properties of waste (3);
(b) be classified in the type of waste to which the category of hazardous waste is assigned in the Waste Catalogue; or
(c) is mixed with or contaminated by any of the waste referred to in (b).
(2) The hazardous characteristic is assigned to waste on the basis of the criteria and limit values established by the directly applicable European Union provisions on hazardous waste properties (3) and, in the case of hazardous waste properties listed in the Annex to these European Union Regulations, under the indications HP 9, HP 14 and HP 15 on the basis of additional limit values and criteria.
(3) Other waste is waste which does not meet the conditions referred to in paragraph 1. Compound municipal waste shall be considered as other waste even if it fulfils the conditions set out in paragraph 1.
(4) Waste referred to in paragraph 1 (b) or (c) or hazardous waste after treatment may be classified as other waste only if it has excluded hazardous properties by assessing the hazardous properties of waste in accordance with § 76.
(5) The Ministry and the Ministry of Health provide for additional limit values and criteria for hazardous properties of waste listed in the Annex directly applicable European Union provisions on hazardous properties of waste (3) under the indications HP 9, HP 14 and HP 15.
§ 8
By-product
(1) A movable item which is produced in a production whose primary objective is not the production or acquisition of that item is not waste but is by-product if:
(a) arise as an integral part of production;
(b) its further use is ensured;
(c) its continued use is possible without further processing in ways other than normal production practice;
(d) its further use complies with other legislation7) or directly applicable European Union8) and will not result in adverse effects on the environment or human health; and
(e) the criteria for individual materials for assessing compliance with the conditions set out in points (a) to (d), provided that they are laid down in an implementing act or in a directly applicable European Union Regulation; compliance with these criteria shall be verified by sampling and testing or by other means provided for in an implementing act or by a directly applicable European Union Regulation and shall be prepared by accompanying documentation to the extent specified by the implementing act or by a directly applicable European Union Regulation.
(2) The Ministry of Industry and Trade may provide for a decree
(a) criteria for assessing compliance with the conditions for by-product referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (d) for individual materials which include:
1. the specific purpose for which the by-product may be used;
2. the authorised material processing procedure referred to in paragraph 1 (c); and
3. qualitative criteria to ensure that there is no threat to the environment and human health;
(b) the method of verifying compliance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 1 (e), including sampling and testing requirements; and
(c) the particulars of the accompanying documentation referred to in paragraph 1 (e).
(3) Each holder of the by-product for which the accompanying documentation has been processed shall be obliged to pass it on to another person with the accompanying documentation.
Termination of the waste scheme
§ 9
(1) Waste which has been the subject of recycling or other recovery and is at the same time defined by the directly applicable European Union Regulation (9) or implementing legislation, shall cease to be waste at the time provided for by the directly applicable European Union or implementing legislation, provided that:
(a) it meets the criteria laid down in the directly applicable European Union9) or implementing legislation, and compliance with these criteria is verified by sampling and testing or by other means established by the directly applicable European Union or implementing legislation;
(b) it complies with other technical requirements for specific purposes provided that they have been established by other legislation or technical standards applicable to products;
(c) meets the requirements of other legislation7) and its use will not result in adverse effects on the environment or human health; and
(d) the accompanying documentation has been prepared for it.
(2) Waste which has been the subject of one of the methods of recovery and is not defined by a directly applicable European Union9 Regulation or implementing legislation, and is not intended for further treatment in a way for which specific technical requirements and criteria are laid down, shall cease to be waste at the time specified in the authorisation of the Regional Authority pursuant to Article 10 (1) if it complies with the requirements of this authorisation, the fulfilment of these requirements is verified in the manner laid down in the authorisation and has been processed by means of accompanying documentation, the formalities laid down by the Ministry of Industry and Trade by decree.
(3) Waste which has been prepared for reuse will cease to be waste when:
(a) the re-use has been prepared in accordance with Paragraph 34 (3);
(b) meet the technical requirements for specific purposes, provided that they have been established by other legislation or technical standards applicable to products;
(c) meets the requirements of other legislation7) and its use will not result in adverse effects on the environment or human health; and
(d) the accompanying documentation has been prepared for him.
(4) Waste shall cease to be waste at the time of processing into the product in the plants defined in points 1 to 3 of Annex 4 to this Act.
(5) A legal or operating natural person who transmits a movable item which has ceased to be waste, except for a item which has ceased to be waste as referred to in paragraph 4, and goods manufactured in an establishment as defined in point 11 of Annex 4 to this Act, shall be obliged to transmit the item with accompanying documentation.
(6) The operator of the waste facility (hereinafter referred to as the "operator") in which the movable goods cease to be waste must keep a register of such items until they start to be transported from that facility.
(7) The Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Trade may provide for a decree
(a) waste which ceases to be waste as referred to in paragraph 1; such waste may only be waste which is of the nature of a secondary raw material or product normally used for a specific purpose and for which a market or demand exists;
(b) the moment when the waste referred to in paragraph 1 ceases to be waste;
(c) the specific purpose for which the movable item which ceases to be waste referred to in paragraph 1 may be used;
(d) requirements for waste entering the recycling or recovery process resulting from waste which ceases to be waste referred to in paragraph 1;
(e) the treatment of waste under the recycling or recovery process referred to in paragraph 1;
(f) the qualitative criteria which waste must meet in order to cease to be waste as referred to in paragraph 1; these criteria must be established in such a way as to ensure that the resulting matter is usable for a specific purpose, complies with the relevant requirements for products and the use thereof does not endanger the environment or human health;
(g) sampling and testing requirements or other means of verifying compliance with paragraph 1 (a); and
(h) the particulars of the accompanying documents referred to in paragraph 1 (d), paragraph 3 (d) and paragraph 5.
§ 10
(1) The Regional Authority, at the request of the applicant for authorisation to operate a waste recovery facility, will allow recycling or other recovery of waste which ceases to be the waste in question, unless the waste is defined in accordance with § 9 (1) and the applicant proves that the resulting
(a) is normally used for the specific purpose specified in his application;
(b) is a matter for which a market or demand exists;
(c) meet the technical requirements for specific purposes provided that they have been established by other legislation or technical standards applicable to products; and
(d) meets the requirements of other legislation7) and its use will not result in adverse effects on the environment or human health.
(2) The permit referred to in paragraph 1 shall form part of the permit for the operation of the recovery facility referred to in Article 21 (2).
(3) The Regional Office shall define in the decision referred to in paragraph 1:
(a) waste which ceases to be waste;
(b) the specific purpose for which the movable item ceases to be waste;
(c) requirements for waste entering the recycling or other recovery process resulting from waste which ceases to be waste;
(d) the treatment process;
(e) the qualitative criteria which waste must meet in order to stop being waste; These criteria must be established in such a way as to ensure that the movable item is usable for a specific purpose, meets the relevant product requirements and does not endanger the environment and human health,
(f) the method of verifying compliance with the requirements referred to in (e), including additional sampling and testing requirements; and
(g) the moment when the waste ceases to be waste.
(4) The applicant shall propose the parameters referred to in paragraph 3 in the application referred to in paragraph 1 or in the design of the operating schedule of the installation.
(5) The applicant shall add to the application referred to in paragraph 1 an expression from the Ministry of Industry and Trade as to whether the resulting matter is commonly used for the specific purpose indicated in the application, whether there is a market or demand for it and whether it complies with the marketing rules and the binding opinion of the Regional Health Station in terms of human health impacts and the assessment of health risks. A binding opinion and statement shall not be required where the applicant adds to the application referred to in paragraph 1 a final decision authorising the recycling or other recovery of waste referred to in paragraph 1 for the same type of waste entering the recycling or other recovery process, the same processing process, the same resulting item and the same subsequent recovery method.
(6) The Regional Authority shall revoke or amend the authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 if:
(a) there is a change in the conditions applicable to the authorisation; or
(b) the resulting matter ceases to satisfy the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.
(7) In the procedure for the amendment or revocation of an authorisation referred to in paragraph 1, the Regional Authority shall request the opinion of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and, where the modification of the authorisation or the reason for the revocation of the authorisation concerns areas of public health protection, the binding opinion of the Regional Health Centre in terms of the impact on human health and the assessment of health risks.
§ 11
Definition of certain other terms
(1) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) preventing the generation of waste by measures taken before a movable item becomes waste which reduces the adverse effects of the waste generated on the environment and human health, limits the content of hazardous substances in materials and products or limits the amount of waste, including through the re-use of products or parts thereof for the original purpose or by extending the life of the products;
(b) re-using the procedures whereby products or parts thereof which are not waste are reused for the same purpose as they were originally intended for;
(c) waste management, waste concentration, waste collection, waste storage, waste collection, waste treatment, waste recovery, waste disposal, waste trading or waste transport,
(d) by concentrating waste on the location of waste in the premises, including primary sorting for the purposes of separate concentration and temporary disposal of waste at the site;
(e) separate concentration of waste by concentration of waste, where individual wastes are classified by type, category and material of waste in order to facilitate their subsequent treatment;
(f) the collection of waste by a legal person or by a natural person for the purposes of transfer to a waste treatment facility, provided that the disposal of waste in a waste collection facility does not exceed 9 months;
(g) the treatment of waste by recovery or disposal, including treatment before recovery or disposal;
(h) waste treatment any activity which results in a change in the chemical, biological or physical properties of the waste, including their sorting, in order to reduce their volume, reduce their hazardous properties, or enable or facilitate their transport, recovery or disposal, the waste always remaining waste after treatment;
(i) recovery of waste by an activity which results in waste serving a useful purpose by replacing materials used for a specific purpose or by being prepared for that particular purpose by fulfilling the conditions laid down in Paragraph 9 or 10 and which ceases to be waste; the recovery methods are set out in Annex 5 to this Act,
(j) energy recovery of waste, using waste in a manner similar to fuel for the purpose of utilizing its energy content or other means of producing energy;
(k) material recovery of waste by any means of recovery involving the preparation for reuse, recycling and disposal, with the exception of energy recovery and conversion to materials to be used as fuel or other means of energy production;
(l) recycling of waste the recovery method by which waste is re-treated to products, materials or substances, whether for original or other purposes; waste recycling involves reprocessing of organic materials but does not include energy recovery and reprocessing into materials to be used as fuel or as filling material;
(m) by preparing for reuse the recovery method involving inspection, cleaning or repair which ensures that the products or parts thereof can be reused without further processing;
(n) storage of waste in a facility designated for that purpose for a maximum period of 1 year prior to disposal or for a maximum period of 3 years before recovery;
(o) waste disposal activity which is not waste recovery, even if such activity has as a secondary consequence the recovery of substances or energy; the disposal methods are set out in Annex 6 to this Act;
(p) the purchase and sale of waste under the sole responsibility of a legal person or an undertaking by a natural person, including a situation where such persons are not physically in possession of the waste;
(q) equipment technical unit, land, construction or part of construction;
(r) waste facility
1. a facility for the storage, collection, treatment, recovery or disposal of waste in which the activity defined in the Catalogue of Activities in Annex 2 to this Act is carried out and operated on the basis of a permit under Paragraph 21 (2);
2. a waste recovery facility as defined in Annex 4 to this Act, which is operated under an exemption pursuant to Paragraph 21 (3) and which has been notified of the start of operations under Paragraph 95 (1); or
3. small equipment operated under the consent of § 64 (2);
(s) mobile equipment of a waste facility capable of independent movement and function, which does not lose that function by moving;
(t) by facilitating the management of waste by ensuring the recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of other persons, including in cases where the legal or business natural person handling waste (hereinafter referred to as "intermediary") does not have such waste physically held,
(u) sampling a set of sampling activities and documentation of such activities;
(v) by filling in any method of recovery in which suitable other waste is used for the purpose of reclamation of harvested areas or for technical purposes in field treatment;
w) cross-border shipments of waste to, from the Czech Republic or via the Czech Republic.
(2) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) municipal waste mixed and sorted household waste, in particular paper and paperboard, glass, metals, plastics, biological waste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste batteries and accumulators, and bulking waste, in particular mattresses and furniture, as well as mixed waste and sorted waste from other sources, provided that the nature and composition of household waste is similar; municipal waste does not include waste from production, agriculture, forestry, fishing, septics, sewage networks and sewage treatment plants, including sludge, end-of-life vehicles or construction and demolition waste,
(b) biodegradable waste which is subject to aerobic or anaerobic degradation;
(c) biodegradable municipal waste biodegradable waste contained in municipal waste;
(d) biodegradable waste from gardens and public greens, food and kitchen waste from households, offices, restaurants, wholesale, canteens, food or retail establishments and comparable waste from food industry facilities;
(e) small installations for the treatment and recovery of biodegradable waste which processes biodegradable waste for a single site in quantities not exceeding 20 tonnes, provided that the total annual quantity of processed biodegradable waste does not exceed 150 tonnes;
(f) the transport of waste by a legal or business natural person operating for hire or reward who transports waste to or from a waste facility which is not the originator;
(g) landfill of waste disposal facilities using their controlled surface or sub-surface storage;
(h) secondary raw materials having in particular the character of by-products or treated waste which have ceased to be waste after they have fulfilled the conditions and criteria, if any, of materials obtained from products subject to re-collection under the end-of-life law, of materials from other products used for further processing, including unused input materials, materials passed for re-use; the secondary raw material serves as an input for production and replaces the primary raw material,
(i) sediments of material extracted from water tanks, water surfaces, ponds and watercourses resulting mainly from the establishment of eroded soil particles, with the exception of material extracted as river material under the Water Act;
(j) waste arising from construction and demolition activities by construction and demolition;
(k) food waste food referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178 / 200210 of the European Parliament and of the Council) which has become waste;
(l) illegally concentrated waste concentrated outside waste facilities, if not waste collection.
(3) The collection of waste for the purposes of this Act means:
(a) the concentration of waste at the place of its formation, where the disposal of waste at the place of collection does not exceed 1 year;
(b) the concentration of other waste where other waste generated in one place outside the producer's premises is transported to the collection site by the producer of the waste in a quantity not exceeding 20 tonnes, provided that it is transported immediately after its establishment to the appropriate waste producer's premises;
(c) the concentration of waste at the sites of designated municipalities in accordance with Article 59 (2) and (5); or
(d) the concentration of waste within the framework of the activities of the Ministry of Defence or its established contribution organisation for the administration and operation of objects important for the defence of the State under the Act on the provision of defence of the Czech Republic even if the waste is transported to their premises other than the one in which it was created.
§ 12
Prevention of waste generation
(1) Everyone is obliged, in their activities, to prevent the generation of waste, to limit its quantity and dangerous properties.
(2) The legal or operating natural person who manufactures the products shall ensure that the development and production of such products reduce the generation of waste from those products, in particular hazardous waste, and, where it is not possible to prevent the generation of waste from those products, shall ensure that the maximum recovery of such waste can be achieved in accordance with the waste hierarchy.
(3) Any person may compost biodegradable material arising from his or her activity as a prevention of waste if he or she uses the compost as part of his or her activity or transmits it in accordance with the fertiliser law and if there is no risk to the environment or human health during composting. The legal or business natural person must manage composting in such a way as to ensure aerobic microbial degradation of organic matter without odour or methane emissions. The composting of biological material of animal origin may only be carried out in an establishment meeting the requirements for the processing of animal by-products (4). Compost which a person does not use in the course of his activity or does not pass in accordance with the fertiliser law is waste. Other outputs from composting are waste.
(4) A movable item which can be used for its original purpose in accordance with other legislation shall not become waste if it is transmitted for reuse either directly or through another person.
(5) It is true that a movable item which has been transferred by a person to a place designated by a municipality and which can be used for its original purpose in accordance with other legislation has not become waste if it has been transferred for reuse.

ČÁST DRUHÁ

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Regulation Information

CitationAct No. 541 / 2020 Coll., on Waste
Regulation TypeLaw
Author-
CollectionCode of Laws
Date of Promulgation23.12.2020
Effective from01.01.2021
Effective until-
Status Valid
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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