waste mgt studies

8/6/2019 Waste MGT Studies

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March 2008

ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN200620072008

Compendium of articles from

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12

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www.environment.gov.il

Integrated SolidWaste

Management

Construction &Demolition Waste

From Dumping toLandfilling

From Disposal toRecovery

8

Solid Waste Management in Israel

Cover photo:Rehabilitated wastesite in Kfar Saba.Photo: Eitan Aram

State of Israel


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Each person in Israel generated 1.53 kilograms of waste

per day in 2005 - totaling 560 kilograms per person

per year. In all, some 6 million tons of waste, including

industrial waste, were generated in Israel in 2005. In a

country as small as Israel, the problem of how to manage

all of this waste is reaching critical proportions.

Recognition of the fact that the capacity of authorizedlandfills will soon be exhausted led the Ministry of

Environmental Protection to formulate a policy based

on integrated waste management at the dawn of the

21st century. In 2006, the main elements of this policy,

based on a combination of methods to reduce and

recover as much of the waste as possible, received the

official stamp of approval of the National Planning and

Building Board, Israels highest planning authority, in the

form of a Solid Waste Management Master Plan.

From Concept to Document

To date, Israels solid waste management system

has taken little or no consideration of the scarcity of

land reserves and of the dire consequences of landconsumption. The unrealistic low cost of landfilling has

prevented the introduction of advanced, innovative

and more expensive methods of solid waste treatment.

wWhat to do with some 6 million tons of municipal and

industrial waste which is generated in Israel each year?

A recently approved Solid Waste Management Master

Plan, coupled with legislative reforms and initiatives,

presents some answers.

To a large extent, the Solid Waste Management Master

Plan seeks to overcome this basic market failure.

It sets out to present a clear and comprehensive

framework for solid waste management, including

rules, criteria, approaches and long-term goals for

achieving integrated solid waste management, based

on reduction, recovery and landfilling, with landfilling

representing the last option. Moreover, it relates to all

stages of solid waste management, to all generators of

waste and to a wide range of treatment methods.

Strategic Policy Goals

In a nutshell, the target of Israels solid waste policy is to

minimize the costs both environmental and economic- of solid waste treatment. Environmental costs, which are

not always easy to quantify, are reflected in damages

to quality of life, safety and human and environmental

health. Economic costs are reflected in the direct costs

of land consumption and in the financial and natural

resources required for solid waste treatment.

Following are the strategic goals of the solid waste

management master plan:

1. Sustainable management of land resources in Israel:

Assurance that land consumption for landfilling

purposes will not hinder opportunities for physical,

landscape, and environmental development, but

will prevent economic and social damages (socialinjustice) in all areas of the country.

2. Protection of the physical environment: Assurance

that the solid waste management system will be

PLANNINGFOR INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE

MANAGEMENT IN ISRAEL

ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN 2007

Green plastic

bottles await

recycling at

Aviv Ltd.Photo: Yoav

Goell


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implemented in a way that will prevent environmental

damages of all kinds.

3. Repair of historic damages: Assurance that reversible

historic environmental damages will be reduced inall areas within five years.

4. Partnership and contribution to global environmental

trends: Assurance that the policy will transform Israel

into an active and valued partner in international

efforts to protect global environmental resources.

Public Participation in Planning for Integrated Solid

Waste Management

The Ministry of Environmental Protection considers

public participation in planning and decision making

processes to be a high priority in order to prevent

conflicts and promote plans. During the preparation

of the solid waste master plan, four public hearings

were held with the participation of the Israeli PublicSolid Waste Forum a 200-member group including

stakeholders from all sectors.

Furthermore, due to the sensitivity of planning for thermal

treatment facilities and other recycling and recovery

facilities in the vicinity of population centers, the Ministry

of Environmental Protection and the S. Neaman Institute

for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology have

initiated a project designed to create an efficient and

accessible mechanism for public participation.

Priorities for Action

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has been

working hard to implement the integrated solid

waste policy, with first priority going to the landfill levy

(approved in January 2007) as a means of internalizing

the external costs of land consumption, air pollution,

water pollution and more. Without doubt, the recent

approval of the landfill levy constitutes an historic

milestone in waste management in Israel.

Yet, at the same time, the ministry is also concentrating

its efforts on promoting recycling and reduction at

source for different waste streams, reviewing different

technologies for thermal treatment and promoting

public participation in planning and decision makingon material recovery facilities.Several of the ministrys

initiatives have become a reality in recent months

whether the landfill levy or a recycling law for waste

tires, thus significantly advancing the ministrys efforts.

Education, financial assistance and regulatory measures

all are being used today to make integrated solid

waste management a reality.

Policy Steps and Recommendations

The master plan outlines the policy steps which are necessary to achieve the

goals of solid waste treatment in Israel. Each step is made up of two components:

actions that will serve as "agents of change" to achieve the long-term goals of

the master plan, and tools to facilitate the process by such means as legislationand enforcement, economic incentives and persuasion and assimilation.

Following are some examples of recommended policy steps:

Reduction at source:

Encouraging reduction at source, mainly among industrialists and commercial

enterprises.

Reviewing potential models of levies on manufacturers for material use.

Promoting reduction at source among the general public.

Recovery:

Imposing a landfill levy which will internalize the external costs of landfilling.

Advancing planning for a thermal treatment system.

Promoting paper, cardboard and plastic recycling.

Advancing composting.Landfilling:

Advancing dedicated landfills for dry waste (with low degradable organic matter).

Continuing the development of landfills for municipal solid waste.

Rehabilitating abandoned dumps.

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Electronic

waste awaiting

recycling at Zohar

S.B.A.

Photo: Yoav Goell


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WASTE GENERATION FACTSAND FIGURES: 2005

DID YOU KNOW?

Generation of Waste

A total of 6 million tons of waste, including industrial

waste, were generated in Israel in 2005.

Each person in Israel generated 1.53 kilograms of

waste per day, totaling some 560 kilograms per

year.

Savion residents generated the highest rates of

waste per day 4.47 kg per person, followed by

Eilat 3.45 kg of waste per person per day, probably

due to the waste generated by the numerous hotels

and large numbers of tourists in the city.

Waste quantities generated in Jerusalem, Beersheba

and Bnei Brak have remained nearly identical over

the past five years about 1.26 kg per capita, 1.7 kg

per capita and 1.36 kg per capita, respectively.

Waste quantities in Tel Aviv have declined over

the past six years: 3.27 kg in 2000, 2.94 kg in 2001,

2.85 kg in 2002, 2.75 kg in 2003, 2.73 kg in 2004 and

2.62 kg in 2005. This trend indicates a decrease in

consumption levels.

Composition of Solid Waste: 2005

Plastic waste constitutes 46% of the waste volume

in the Israeli garbage bin (up from 34% in 1995),

followed by paper (15%) and cardboard (13%). In terms of weight, organic matter constitutes 40%

of Israels solid waste, followed by paper (17%) and

plastic (13%).

Plastic bags make up 30% of the volume and 7%

of the weight of the waste.

Recycling of Waste

1.4 tons of waste were recycled by 8 recovery

facilities, 23% of the total quantity of mixed waste.

Recycling rates in Israel have risen from 3% at the

beginning of the 1990s to about 23% in 2005.

Some 130 local authorities take part in recycling

and recovery processes in Israel.

Some 1,156 billion beverage containers werecollected for recycling between October 2001,

when the Deposit Law on Beverage Containers went

into effect, and the end of 2005. Some 330 million

beverage containers were collected in 2005.

Some 50 million beverage containers larger than 1.5

liters were collected from 6000 cage-like receptacles

dispersed throughout the country.

Sixteen collection points for electronic waste are

dispersed in ten local authorities throughout the

country.

85 tons of used batteries were collected in 2005. In

the first eight months of 2006, 80 tons of used batteries

were collected for landfilling in the hazardous waste

treatment site at Ramat Hovav.

Composition of Solid Waste - Summer-Winter 2005

Average Weight

Composition of Solid Waste - Summer-Winter 2005

Average Volume



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Glass bottles at

Phoenicia await

recycling/photo:

Yoav Goell

Estimates of Recycling in Israel (2005)

Percent ofRecycling out of

Total

Total RecycledWaste/Year

(tons)

Type of Raw Material

0.4829,037Non-Ferrous Metals

0.1810,500Electronics

3.95236,972Yard Waste & Wood

0.530,000Glass

5.94356,602Organic Material

0.127,063Miscellaneous

7.75465,210Ferrous Metals

4255,138Paper and

Cardboard0.4728,100Plastic

0.021000Tires

231,419,622Total

Collection of Beverage Containers for Recycling

Used Battey Collection Recycilng Rates

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Israel has a statutory

National Outline Plan forSolid Waste Treatment. Why

was it necessary to prepare

a master plan on solid waste

management as well?

The National Outline Plan

for Solid Waste Treatment

(NOP 16) was approved by

the government in 1989 and

was amended on different

occasions during the 1990s.

However, the background documents of this outline plan

forecast processes until the year 2000 and did not envision

the scarcity of space for landfilling. Our recognition that

landfill volume in Israel is fast running out prompted us to

approach the National Planning and Building Board with a

request to facilitate the establishment of Material Recovery

Facilities and to simplify the statutory planning process

which is long and bureaucratic. In turn, the National Board

called for the preparation of a master plan which would

analyze existing conditions and present recommendations

for integrated solid waste management until the year 2020.

On a concrete level, what will be the outputs of the new

master plan?

The outputs will include legislative steps and operational

and planning processes. Legislative steps include the

imposition of a landfill levy, which was finally approved in

January 2007, and specific legislation for different waste

streams, such as the Tire Recycling Law, also recently

enacted. Operational processes relate to composting and

other forms of waste recovery. Planning processes relate

to a directive by the National Board to amend NOP 16

in accordance with the recommendations of the master

plan, including zoning requirements for thermal treatment

facilities and guidelines on public participation. The idea

is to shorten the planning track for some projects by

transferring the planning of recycling and recovery facilities

from the national to the regional level of planning.

The National Board is the highest statutory planning body

in Israel, with representatives from government bodies,

local authorities and public and professional organizations.

Therefore, the adoption of the master plan by this body

should have far-reaching influence on the entire system.

I believe that the policy outlined in the master

plan will be translated into recovery and recyclingfacilities in the field over the coming years.

What is the ministry doing to facilitate the move

to integrated waste management?

Fortunately, we have seen several of our initiatives

come to fruition recently. Firstly, and most significantly,

an amendment to the Maintenance of Cleanliness

Law makes the landfil l levy obligatory. The economic

studies which first identified the landfill levy as the

right tool for reducing the quantities of waste

reaching landfills and increasing waste recycling

and recovery were carried out as far back as

1996. I believe that the landfill levy is the most

significant achievement in the field of solid wastetreatment over the past ten years. Without doubt

this achievement will advance Israel towards a new

era of recycling and recovery.

At the same time, two additional developments will

help pave the way toward recycling: enactment

of the Tire Recycling Law and approval by the

cabinet and the Israel Knesset in a first reading

of the expansion of the Deposit Law on Beverage

Containers which will allow some 600 million more

bottles, 1.5 liters and up, to come under the umbrella

of the law.

In parallel, we will continue to grant financial aid

to material recovery facilities, to recycling centers

and educational programs and to other recyclinginitiatives. In our opinion the combination of recycling

with thermal treatment and anaerobic digestion

should bring us close to our 50% recovery target.

MOVING TOWARD INTEGRATEDSOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Ilan Nissim

Director, Solid Waste Division

Teenim landfill

photo: Ilan Nissim



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The National Outline

Plan for Solid Wastehas proved itself. It

has seen the closure

of hundreds of dumps

and their replacement

by state-of-the-art

landfills. However, it

is time to move on.

We must now provide

the right conditions

to entrepreneurs,

we must prepare the

necessary infrastructure, and we must provide

the right framework of rules to facilitate recovery

processes.Therefore, we are now in the midst of amending the

provisions of the outline plan in accordance with the

master plan. The goal is to facilitate the establishment

of solid waste complexes, offering different treatment

options, and based on environmental criteria.

To reach this goal, planning processes must be

simplified. Sorting, recycling and composting facilities

will be planned at the regional level, while landfill

planning will continue at the national level where

a comprehensive view of Israels land resources is

necessary.

Within a few years, all of today's approved and active

landfills will reach capacity. Therefore, urgent steps

are necessary to promote alternative and advanced

treatment methods. In this regard, the landfill levy

which was recently approved by the Knesset is of

top importance. Today the pr ice of landfilling in Israel

is unrealistic and thereby impedes the promotion of

advanced treatment methods, including reduction

at source, reuse, recycling and waste to energy. A

comparative study which we undertook showed that

while the average price of landfilling in I srael is about

40 shekels per ton (less than $10), prices worldwide

run between tens of dollars to as much as hundreds

of dollars per ton.

As long as the landfilling price does not reflect its true

costs, advanced waste recovery facilities will not be

able to penetrate the waste treatment market. The

landfill levy plays a vital role in providing a solution

to the current price distortion in Israel's waste market

Tal Shohat

Director of Landfills and Transfer

Stations, Solid Waste Division

and will go a long way toward encouraging the

development of waste recovery facilities asalternatives to landfills.

MOVING FROM LANDFILLS TORECOVERY FACILITIES

Decorating

garbage

dumpsters

in Acrephoto: Ilan

Swissa

Plastic

bottle

receptacle

photo:

ShaulAlmog

7

Tire as home

to anemone

and

mosquitoesphoto: Shai

Ilan


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January 2006 in Hiriya. The plants are expected to

reach a recycling capacity of 100,000 tons per year

and 150,000 tons per year, respectively. Other plants

are already operational in other parts of the country

in Ashkelon, Ramat Zvi in the Beit Shean Valley and

Dudaim in the south, complemented by mobile on-site

facilities throughout the country.

Working on Solutions

Finding a comprehensive solution to the problem of

construction waste is not easy, largely because of

the large number of stakeholders involved in everypart of the chain, including waste generators, waste

transporters, waste contractors and local authorities.

Whats more, basic infrastructures for collection,

transport and transfer are inadequate and vital parts

of the system are unregulated.

Yet, despite the difficulties, stakeholders believe that the

time is ripe for market forces to play their part in ridding

the country of unsightly heaps of construction waste

and promoting environment-friendly solutions. Building

contractors are beginning to discover the economic

potential inherent in using recycled aggregates from

construction waste as fill in construction or as a road

base, and efforts have been initiated to formulate

appropriate standards.Local authorities, too, should be interested in solving the

problem. Not only does such waste detract from the

aesthetic appearance of cities and their environs, but it

takes up valuable land, with an economic value for real

estate purposes. It is in the interest of local authorities

to make derelict land available for building and to

clean up these spaces.

Upgrading the Role of Local Authorities

Local authorities should play a key role in coordinating

the safe disposal and treatment of construction waste

but they dont. While municipalities are legally bound to

collect municipal solid waste, they are not obligated to

dispose and treat construction and demolition waste.To overcome this barrier, the following amendments

to planning and building regulations have been

promulgated:

Growing piles of construction waste along roadsides

and open spaces are a grim reality in Israel. Their

association with landscape blight and environmental

problems is indisputable. Yet, to date, despite a three

year old government decision to regulate the treatment

of construction waste, little has been done to solve the

problem. Out of some 7.5 tons of construction waste that

are generated in Israel each year, only 1.5 million reach

authorized landfills. Yet the problem cannot be solved

by landfilling alone. Israel does not have sufficient landresources to absorb the ever growing amounts of dry

waste that are generated annually. Steps are urgently

needed to turn construction waste from nuisance to

resource.

Over the past year alone, two plants for the crushing

and treatment of construction waste were inaugurated

in Israels central region, one operational since August

2005 in Bareket and the second operational since

Targeting Constructionand Demolition Waste:

a Top Priority

Composition of Waste Generated on

Residential Construction Sites

A research study commissioned by the Ministry

of Environmental Protection and conducted byDr. Hadassah Baum and Dr. Amnon Katz of the

Technion Israel Institute of Technology in 2004

has found:

Construction waste generated on residential

construction sites includes such materials as

concrete, iron, wood, bricks, tiles, plastic and

paper.

Non-inert materials, such as plastic, alumi-

num and gypsum, constitute some 36% of

the waste.

Nearly two thirds of the waste may be recy-

cled, consisting of 12% paper, 8% iron and 44%

inert materials.

Residential building generates an estimated20 tons of waste for each 100 square meters

of built space.


TTransforming construction waste from nuisance toresource is at the top of the ministrys "to do" list


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Local planning and building committees must require

building permit holders to transfer their waste to an

authorized site for disposal.

Contractors applying for a building permit must

prove to local planning committees that they have

contacted an authorized construction waste landfill

for the purpose of disposing of all of the wasteexpected to be generated by the project.

Occupancy permits for buildings must not be issued

until proof is provided that all of the waste stipulated

in the building permit was transferred to an authorized

site.

Yet, despite the regulations, local planning committees

have largely continued to issue building permits without

addressing the problem of construction and demolition

waste. And when it comes to small home renovations,

building permits are not required at all.

The Model Bylaw for the Disposal of Dry Waste

To help address the problem, the Ministry of Environmental

Protection has drafted a model bylaw on the disposalof construction and demolition waste which is currently

being "marketed" to local authorities. The bylaw relates

to the obligations and powers of local authorities in

establishing both the necessary infrastructures and the

necessary systems for supervision and control including

permits and fees.

In parallel, the possibility of having municipalities publish

tenders for authorized transporters of construction waste

that will serve the city is being examined. Today, this

is one of the weakest links in the chain leading from

generation to disposal since the transport sector is

inadequately regulated. The goal is to select, by tender,

a number of official municipal transporters, thereby also

giving residents who renovate their homes the option

of choosing an official transporter, at a lower price and

with the assurance that the waste collected will indeed

reach an authorized site.

What is the Ministry of Environmental

Protection Doing to Effect a Change?

Promoting the establishment of standards

for recycled construction waste through the

Standards Institution of Israel;

Advancing legislative changes: an amend-

ment to the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law

imposing responsibility on local authorities for

the transport and disposal of construction

waste and a model municipal bylaw on the

disposal of dry waste;

Initiating a pilot project, with the participation

of all stakeholders, based on the Environmen-

tal Problem Solving Approach;

Stepping up enforcement: catching offend-

ers "in the act," launching investigations, fil-

ing criminal charges and, at times, seizing

offending vehicles to be used as evidence

during trials.

Providing financial support to local authoritiesfor planning and establishing infrastructures

for dry waste: in 2005, 11 million shekels in

financial aid were allocated to about 45

local authorities.

Identifying abandoned quarries which

may be used for the disposal of construc-

tion waste, in cooperation with the Quarry

Rehabilitation Fund and the Israel Lands Ad-

ministration. Once filled and rehabilitated,

the quarries may be transformed into parks

for the benefit of the population.

Issuing warnings and Cleanup Orders for

the clean up of open spaces to the own-

ers of land or to the polluters themselves. Ifnot implemented, a contractor is hired and

the owner or polluter is charged double the

expenses.

Photos left to right: Ilan Malester, Ayelet Arad, Galia Pasternak

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What has changed for

the better since the

government decision of

2003 to regulate the treatment of construction

and demolition waste?

The issue of construction and demolition waste is

the realm of responsibility of numerous stakeholders,

including the key players in the field of building

and development in Israel the Ministry of the

Interior, local planning authorities, the Ministries of

Construction and Housing, Transport and Defense,

and the Israel Lands Administration. Three years

ago, these bodies were not sufficiently aware

of the magnitude and consequences of the

problem. Today, both government ministries and

agencies and local authorities are beginning to

recognize the high price that they are paying

environmentally and economically. The waste

which finds its way to open spaces and roadsides

affects more than our environment and our health it impacts on land values, hurts tourism andharms our economy.

What has changed to make you more

optimistic about the possibilities of

improvement today?

As far as the Solid Waste Division is concerned,

this is our greatest challenge. We succeeded

in regulating the area of municipal waste. Now

we must turn all of our efforts to the problem of

construction waste.

We are seeing progress. Firstly, within the Ministry

of Environmental Protection, the subject has been

upgraded in prior ity. In fact Minister Gideon Ezra hasidentified this as the highest priority. Secondly, local

authorities are much more aware of the seriousness

of the problem and are ready to cooperate.

Thirdly, our regional offices, in cooperation with the

Enforcement Coordination Division, have issued

hundreds of cleanup warnings in recent years,

which have both raised awareness and made a

difference in the field. When this was not enough,

warnings were followed up by cleanup orders. In

cases where cleanup orders were ignored, we

ourselves undertook the cleanups and charged

the municipalities double the sum, as per the

provisions of the law.

Its important to mention that the Green Police

has played a critical role in discovering offendersin the very act of dumping construction waste

in prohibited areas, collecting evidence, seizing

dump trucks when necessary as part of the

evidence gathering process, and issuing cleanup

warnings and orders.

What else is being done to bring about a

solution to the problem?

We are sitting with local authorities to help them

implement a comprehensive solution from the

level of local planning authorities which must

ensure that building and occupancy permits are

not issued until solutions to construction wasteare implemented to the level of transporters of

construction waste which must be more strictly

regulated. Local authorities are not familiar with

the legal tools which are available to them to

tackle the problem. We are helping by providing

them with guidelines on such tools as licensing and

permit systems and fees for different aspects of the

treatment of dry waste. Once rules and regulations

are set in bylaws, and are accompanied by fees

and fines, progress would be possible.

At the same time, we are continuing to promote

the establishment of infrastructures for crushing

construction and demolition waste. The huge

amounts of construction waste which weregenerated in the North following the recent war

are catalyzing the process.

Ilan NissimDirector,

Solid Waste Division

Solving the Problem of Constructionand Demolition Waste


10


11/16

Applying the Environmental Problem

Solving Approach to Construction Waste

To further expedite a solution, a pilot project,

based on the Environmental Problem Solving

Approach, has been initiated by three

departments in the Ministry of EnvironmentalProtection (Solid Waste, Business Licensing

and Enforcement Coordination) along with

regional solid waste coordinators. The main

aims of the project, which will be conducted

in three cities Modiin, Jerusalem and Tel

Aviv, with additional cities such as Haifa,

Rehovot, Ramat Gan and Bat Yam showing

an interest as well, are to regulate the work

of renovators and building contractors and

to assure that they comply with business

licensing conditions.

Top Priority to Construction Waste

Soon after entering the office, EnvironmentalProtection Minister Gideon Ezra declared

his intention to place the subject of

construction and demolition waste at the

top of his agenda: "I intend to spearhead a

comprehensive program that will integrate

greater allocations of funds for enforcement,on the one hand, and cooperation with localauthorities and other government ministries

in preparing an immediate work plan, on

the other hand."

Clearly, a comprehensive approach is vital

in order to deal with the complex problems

associated with the generation, disposal,

transport, recycling and reuse of construction

waste. As obstacles are overcome, chances

are good that a market for recycled

construction waste can be developed for

the good of both the environment and the

economy.

Illegal dumping of dry waste is one of the major problems of solid wastemanagement in Israel, largely because generators of dry waste are

often tempted to seek "free" ways to dump their waste.

The Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection is

responsible for the bulk of inspection and investigation activities. When

an environmental nuisance is discovered and the identity of the owner

of the waste or of the land is known, an enforcement procedure is

initiated from calls and letters, to public hearings, to cleanup orders

(under the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law 1984). Yet the procedure

is cumbersome and may take up to six years: from finding evidence

on the origin of the waste, to identifying the offender, to opening a

criminal case, etc. Another possibility is to trace the owner of the land

and order him to clean it up, a procedure that, if contested, can lead

to a lengthy trial.

Over the past five years, criminal charges were filed against about 15

out of the 30 large waste transporters working in the Haifa district, which

encompasses 970 km2 and a population of one million. Enforcement

was targeted at every pile of waste larger than 40 m3 and criminal

investigations were initiated against mayors for illegal waste dumping.

Yet, the problem has not disappeared.

On September 2004, a new step was initiated truck seizure. This is based

on a provision in the Penal Law, which permits the seizure of the tool

used to commit an offense until trial and, in case of conviction, may

allow this tool to become state property. The truck is seized for 30-40 days

and the owner pays storage fees, or, if determined to release the truck,

bail. Truck seizure is only possible if a member of the Israel Police (blue-

uniformed police office) is present. As cooperation is good between

the green and blue police in the Haifa district, shared supervisions

were held for the purpose of discovering waste offenders. In the past

year alone, eleven trucks were seized and transferred to state custody

pending trial.

The impact of this experiment is significant, resulting in:

Less administrative enforcement in the first seven months of 2006,

we opened 8 cases of illegal dumping in comparison to the parallel

period in 2004 when 22 cases were opened a drop of 60%.

30% more dry waste reaching landfills.

Less waste in open fields.

The deterrent effect of this procedure is evident in the attitude of waste

transporters. While previously they knew that a criminal investigation and

trial could take years and result in a fine, today they know that if they

illegally dispose their waste, they risk losing their trucks and an identical

or larger fine in just 30 days. While this is not the final solution, the new

technique has been shown to save time and increase deterrence.

Truck Seizure as a Tool for Stopping IllegalDumping: Case Study in the Haifa District

Shai Ilan and Abed Mahamid

Photo: Eitan Aram

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FROM DUMPING TO SANITARYLANDFILLING

AA real revolution in municipal solid waste disposal occurred in Israel between 1994 and 2003. Today 80% of thecountry's waste is disposed or treated in an environmentally sound mannerIn the late 1980s, some 96% of Israel's municipal waste

found its way to about 500 unregulated garbage dumps.

Most were poorly managed and many had reached

or were soon to reach capacity. The dumps were

associated with a motley of environmental problems:

risk of groundwater and soil contamination, odor, air

pollution (including generation of greenhouse gases),

aesthetic blight, threats to flight safety, and consumption

of expensive tracts of land.

Recognition of the severity of the problems led, in 1993,to a government decision, mandating closure of the

countrys unregulated dumps, their replacement by

state-of-the-art regional and central landfills, financial

aid to local authorities for transporting their wastes

to regulated landfills for a defined time period, and

promotion of recycling and energy recovery.

The landmark decision, which was followed up a

year later with an amendment to the National

Outline Plan for Solid Waste Disposal, expedited the

establishment of central landfills, shut down hundreds

of illegal waste dumps and created an infrastructure

for environmentally-safe solid waste disposal both in

the short and long terms.

Implementation: First Stage

The implementation of the first phase of the plan

- establishment of state-of-the-art central landfills

and closure of the dumps - was concluded in 2003.

Today, Israel's regional and central sites, along with

other landfills included in the national outline plan,

are operated according to professional guidelines

prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

They include the latest technologies for every stage of

landfilling from siting to post-closure, including sealing,

leachate detection, collection, treatment and disposal,

methane gas collection and use, proper covering of

the waste during operation, closure procedures (landfillcapping), and monitoring of possible contamination of

groundwater during and after closure (up to 30 years

aftercare).

The Economics of Landfilling

In the beginning of the 1990s, the cost of landfilling in

Israel was very low, with the tipping fee ranging between

0-15 NIS ($0-4.00). In light of these low costs, "stick and

carrot" measures needed to be used to ensure the

closure of the dumps. Local municipalities were granted

financial aid for transporting waste to regulated sites

following the closure of dumps, on the one hand, and

were forced to close the dumps by demand or legal suit,

on the other hand. In cases where illegal dumps werenot closed, action was also taken against the mayors

or other high level officials in the municipalities.

Between 1994 and 2003, financial support was awarded

12ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN 2008

Photos: Yoav Goell and Ilan MalesterAerial

view of

the Hiriya

landfill

Photo: Ilan

Malester


13/16

to 107 local authorities servicing about half

of the population in the sum of $82 million.

The support was granted for a set period of 5

years with a decrease of 20% each year.

The Results

Today, all regulated landfills in the country

have installed systems for the prevention of

leachate leakage and for leachate collection

and treatment. Most of the landfills have

also installed, or will soon install, systems

for the collection and treatment of landfill

gases. Furthermore, several landfills have

begun to operate facilities for landfill gas

extraction and energy recovery. In addition

to energy savings, this step has important

implications for climate change mitigation.

Since the contribution of methane emissions

from the decomposition of solid waste to

carbon dioxide emissions has been mostsignificant, measures such as landfill gas

extraction and energy recovery, composting

of waste, anaerobic digestion and waste to

energy are important measures for reducing

greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste.

In February 2008, mayors of 15 major Israeli

cities (known as the Forum of 15) signed a

declaration pledging to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions by 20% by the year 2020, as part

of the Cities for Climate Protection campaign,

initiated by the International Council for Local

Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The campaign,

which addresses solid waste and recycling as

one of four main areas of action, marks animportant turning point in the environmental

awareness of local authorities in Israel.

Year Municipalities

(number)

Population1

(million)

Financial support

(Million $)

Closure of

large dumps

(number)

1994 1 0.150 11995-6 63 1.240 10.00 35

1997 72 1.380 7.20 14

1998 88 2.430 11.40 18

1999 102 2.835 15.80 3

2000 107 2.895 15.80 3

2001 107 2.950 10.75 1

2002 107 3.010 10.00 0

2003 107 3.150 1.10 2

Total 82.05 77

Financial Support to Local Authorities for Closure of Dumps (1994-2003)

1 (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2002)

60

50

40

30

20

10

01993

90

80

70

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

7776

74

41

27

96

3 2 20

no.

ofsites

Closure of Unregulated Dumps

Major Milestones on the Road to Integrated Solid Waste Management

1989: Approval of the National Outline Plan for Solid Waste Treatment.

1993: Government decision on closure of unregulated dumps,

establishment of regional and central landfills, financial aid for

transporting waste to regulated landfills and advancement of

recycling and energy recovery.

1993: Enactment of the Collection and Disposal of Waste for Recycling Law.

1994: Amendment of the National Outline Plan for Solid Waste Treatment

according to the 1993 government decision.

1998: Closure of Hiriya, Israel's 84-meter-high landfill near Ben-Gurion

International Airport.

1998: Promulgation of Collection and Disposal of Waste for Recycling

Regulations.

1999: Enactment of the Deposit Law on Beverage Containers.2003: Closure of Israels last unregulated landfill at Retamim

2003: Government decision on construction and demolition waste

treatment.

2006: Approval of the Solid Waste Management Master Plan by the

National Planning and Building Board.

2007: Amendment to the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law on

a landfill levy.

2007: Enactment of the Tire Disposal and Recycling Law.

13

Photos: Ilan Nissim, Eitan Aram and Avri Lachman


14/16

IIsrael has embarked on a new road whichshould hasten the transformation of waste intoresource

rationale: to internalize the external costs of landfilling

and to encourage alternative treatment methods.

On January 16, 2007, the Israel Knesset approved an

amendment to the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law

which requires landfill operators to pay a levy for every

ton of waste which is landfilled at the site. The landfill

rate is determined by the type of waste and type of

landfill and will be gradually implemented over a five

year period (beginning with 10 shekels in the first year, 20

shekels in the second year and reaching 50 shekels in the

fifth year for a ton of municipal solid waste, for example).

The funds collected will be deposited in a dedicated

account of the Maintenance of Cleanliness Fund and

will be returned to local authorities or the private sector

for the purpose of setting up recycling and recovery

infrastructure. Criteria for financial support will be

published in 2008.

Since the levy first went into effect in July 2007 and until

the end of the year, 20 million shekels in landfill levies were

collected, with levies expected to reach 80 million in 2008.

If the present recycling rate of 25% does not increase,

the landfill levy is forecast to reach 200 million shekels a

year within 5 to 10 years.

However, the goal of the Environmental Protection Ministry

is to reduce rather than increase the funds accruing from

the landfill levy. Environmental Protection Minister Gideon

Ezra has stated that "the goal of the ministry is to increase

recycling and reduce landfilling to a minimum. We would

like to collect half of the forecasted landfill levy in 2018

and to reach 100 million shekels rather than 200 million

shekels. The lower the number, the more successful we

will be in reaching our target - preventing the landfilling

of waste and spearheading its recycling.''

Ilan Nissim, Director of the Solid Waste Division in the Ministry

of Environmental Protection, recalls that the economic

studies which first identified the landfill levy as the right tool

for reducing the quantities of waste reaching landfills and

increasing waste recycling and recovery were carried

out as far back as 1996. According to Nissim, the landfill

levy is the most significant achievement in the field of

solid waste treatment over the past ten years: Without

doubt this achievement will advance Israel towards a

new era of recycling and recovery, says Nissim.

A veritable revolution in environmentally sound landfilling

occurred in Israel in the ten year period between 1994

and 2003. Today, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is

hard at work promoting a new revolution: waste recovery.

It is using every possible means - financial support,

legislation and education - to promote alternatives

to landfilling, including recycling, composting, energy

recovery and treatment of construction and demolition

waste.

Economic Tools

As in the case of environmentally sound landfilling,

financial aspects are playing a pivotal role on the road

to waste recovery. Although landfilling costs have more

than tripled since Israel's landfills have been upgraded,

the cost of landfilling still in no way reflects the externalities

associated with this disposal practice, especially in a

country characterized by scant land resources. In fact,

within a few years, all of Israel's approved and active

landfills will reach capacity. Realistic pricing mechanisms

are therefore an imperative in order to promote alternative

solutions to the countrys solid waste problem.

As a first step, a decision was made to change the price

structure of landfilling by means of a landfill levy. The

FROMDISPOSAL TORECOVERY

14ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN 2008

Left to right: Burning tires in the north, Reuse of tires in public park, Tire collection from Gulf of Eilat.Photos: Ministry of

Environmental Protection

Rehabilitated

dump in Haifa.

Photo: Ilan

Malester


15/16

Tire Recycling Law: A Step in the Right Direction

On January 23, 2007, Israels Knesset enacted a Tire Disposaland Recycling Law, which aims to prevent the environmental

nuisances associated with improper disposal of used tires

and to save raw materials and promote tire recycling.

According to the law, tire producers and importers will be

responsible for the disposal and recycling of used tires at

the following graduated rates each year:

Disposal or recycling of no less than 50% of the tires until

June 30, 2009.

Disposal or recycling of no less than 70% of the tires until

June 30, 2011.

Recycling and recovery of at least 50% and disposal

of no more than 35% of the tires until June 30, 2012.

Recycling of at least 85% of the tires, from July 1, 2012.

After July 2013, producers and importers will be obligated torecycle all of the collected tires and will be prohibited from

disposing tires, in any form, in any waste disposal site.

In addition to the responsibility imposed on importers and

MORE ON THE TIRE RECYCLING LAW

Elad Amichai

Recycling Director, Solid Waste Division

Some 3 million tires in Israel are transformed

into waste tires each year. They are

often illegally discarded and polluteopen spaces and water sources. Water accumulation

in waste tires transforms them into breeding grounds for

mosquitoes, including the Asiatic tiger mosquito, which

constitutes a public health hazard.

Over the years, thousands of waste tires have been

transferred to illegal lots, increasing the risk of fires and

air pollution. And even within landfills, used tires are

responsible for operational difficulties since they are

relatively incompressible and combustible waste and

gas may accumulate in them.

Israel's recycling law is an innovative law which is based

on the principle of "producer responsibility" for treating

environmental problems. The rationale is that the produceror importer, who are at the top of the pyramid in the

life cycle of a product, should be responsible for the

environmental impact of the product, even when it is

no longer in use.

Tire recycling is definitely preferable to landfilling, both in

terms of the recovery of natural rubber as a raw material

and in terms of saving landfill space. I anticipate that the

law will help catalyze the development of a recycling

industry in Israel, which receives waste tires from produces

and importers and transforms them into raw materials

and new products.

Since the law came into effect in July 2007, several

companies have been established which treat and dispose

of used tires on behalf of tire importers and producers.

Checks conducted by the Ministry of Environmental

Protection demonstrate that tire repair businesses have

largely instituted the required tire disposal systems.

While much remains to be done in terms of cleaning up

the country from the accumulation of tires in the past,

my hope is that the waste tires which once polluted our

country will soon be transformed into raw material for

new products, bringing about both resource conservation

and environmental improvement.

producers of tires, the law imposes storage requirements

on tire sale and repair businesses. Such establishments

are required to store tires in a way which will prevent the

accumulation of water and the creation of environmental

nuisances. These businesses are also required to transfer

tires on a regular basis to importers and producers in order

to avoid the creation of large stockpiles of tires.

From Nuisance to Resource

Israels integrated solid waste management policy

has been implemented using both "stick and carrot"

enforcement, on the one hand, and financial support

and education, on the other hand. Hopefully this will prove

to be a winning combination when it comes to waste

recovery and recycling. The Ministry's short-term goal for

2008 is to achieve a 25% recycling and recovery rate andto increase the recycling rate of the country's construction

and demolition waste to 5%. The long-term goal is to reach

a 50% recovery rate within the next ten years.

15

Left to right:

Recycling bins.

Photo: Ilan Nissim,

Plastic bottle

collection.Photo:

Ilan Malester,

Recycled rubber

from tires in

playground.Photo:

Ilan Nissim


16/16

ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN vol. 32

16

Reuse of tires in public park. Photo: Ministry

of Environmental Protection, Northern District.

Looking for information about the environment in Israel?

Websites for Everyone

For more information:

Solid Waste Management Division

Ministry of Environmental Protection

P.O.B. 34033

Jerusalem 95464, Israel

Telephone: 972-2-6553801/2

Fax: 972-2-6553817

Inquiries: [email protected]

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has developed four main websites, with

something for everyone - children and adults, Hebrew, English and Arabic speakers,

in Israel and worldwide.

Come visit us at:

Hebrew Website:www.sviva.gov.il

English Website: www.environment.gov.il/english

Arabic Website: www.sviva.gov.il/arabic

Children's Website:www.sababa.sviva.gov.il

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