New Act on Waste Disposal

(Act No. 223/2001 Coll. on Waste Disposal and amending and supplementing certain acts)

The new act on waste disposal regulates rights and duties of legal entities and individuals with regard to prevention of waste creation and to waste disposal, powers of state administrative authorities and municipalities in the area of waste economy, the regime of import, export and transit of waste, responsibility for breach of duties in the sector of waste economy and the establishment of the Waste Recovery Fund.

Within the negative determination of its scope, the act on waste disposal is not related to the legal regime of wastes which are regulated by special acts. This act introduces significant legislative terms and their definitions, such as waste, waste originator, waste holder, waste economy, waste disposal, dangerous waste, municipal waste and waste dump.

The legal regime of waste disposal regulates powers of state administrative authorities in respect to granting an approval and authorisation for performance of activities in waste economy.

The act also regulates a duty of a waste dump operator consisting of creation financial reserve for a special purpose in the course of the waste dump operation, sources of which will be used for closing, re-cultivation and monitoring of the waste dump after its closing.

The act on waste disposal establishes the Waste Recovery Fund as a special purpose non-state fund, in which the funds for supporting the collection, valuation and processing of individual sorts of waste are concentrated. The act regulates in particular bodies of the Waste Recovery Fund, as well as sources of its income, the use of its funds, provision of such funds and operation of the Waste Recovery Fund.

Within the responsibility for breach of duties, the respective state administrative authority may impose a penalty up to SKK 200 000, SKK 500 000 or SKK 5 000 000 on a legal entity or an individual - entrepreneur depending on a specific breach.

A relevant state administrative authority for waste economy may impose a penalty up to SKK 10 000 000 on an importer or an exporter of waste, if he does not fulfil his duty to contribute into the Waste Recovery Fund. This regulation also contains an enumeration of offences in the area of waste economy and sanctions for their commission.

The Act No. 238/1991 Coll. on waste disposal, as amended, the Act No. 494/1991 Coll. on state administration in waste economy, as amended, items 67 to 72 of the exhibit of the Act No. 222/1996 Coll. on organisation of local state administration, Sect. 47 (1), letter h) of the Act No. 372/1990 Coll. on offences, the Order of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 605/1992 Coll. on keeping records on waste and the Order of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 606/1992 Coll. on waste disposal, are cancelled by the new act on waste disposal.

This act is in force from 1 July 2001, apart from certain provisions stipulated by the act, which will become effective gradually, from 1 January 2002, 1 July 2002, 1 January 2003, 1 January 2005 and 1 January 2006.

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