Landfill of Waste Compliance · Directive 1999/31/EC
Your waste storage sites, assessed against Directive 1999/31/EC and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Landfill of Waste Compliance · Directive 1999/31/EC
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/850 assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism (one level, a higher level, and the action linking the two) is what turns a finding into a trajectory.
Is the compliance verification procedure for waste on receipt applied consistently across all loads?
- N1
No written procedure. Loads are accepted on the basis of the delivery note and habit, with no formal check on entry.
- N2
A procedure exists and basic characterisation is requested, but reception checks are limited to streams considered sensitive and rejections are not always logged.
- N3
Compliance verification is applied to all streams, results are recorded in the acceptance register and rejections are documented. Gaps are occasional.
- N4
Checks are planned by stream and by producer, non-conformities trigger action with the producer, and results are reviewed periodically with operations.
- N5
Thresholds and check frequency are adjusted based on producer history and monitoring results, with traceability of revisions and documented feedback to upstream supply chains.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Extend the visual check and weighbridge recording to all loads, make the rejection reason mandatory in the acceptance register, and verify the completeness of records at the monthly operations review.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
Directive 1999/31/EC governs the landfilling of waste across the European Union. It distinguishes three classes of facility (hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, inert waste), bans the acceptance of certain wastes such as used tyres, liquid waste and explosive waste, and requires pre-treatment before disposal. It sets out requirements for geological barriers and lining, leachate collection and treatment, and landfill gas capture and recovery. It also imposes an acceptance procedure, a financial guarantee and post-closure monitoring.
In operation, the difficulty is not knowing the text, it is demonstrating what actually happens on site. Are pre-acceptance and reception checking procedures applied to every load, or only to sensitive waste streams? Is groundwater, landfill gas and stability monitoring data actually used, or filed away without trend analysis? Does the financial guarantee cover a reassessed post-closure cost, or the amount set at the original permit stage? Across a multi-site group, the answers vary from one facility to the next.
Directive (EU) 2018/850 tightened the framework in line with the circular economy: a progressive ban on landfilling waste collected separately for reuse or recycling, and a target to cut the landfilling of municipal waste to 10 percent or less by 2035. For operators in the extractive and mining industries, a recurring point of attention concerns the boundary with Directive 2006/21/EC: extractive waste managed in a dedicated facility falls under the extractive waste regime, while non-extractive waste deposited on site falls under the landfill regime. This classification determines the obligations that apply and is decided site by site.
An inspection ends with a finding of compliance or a gap. The maturity assessment answers a different question: what level of control do your practices actually sit at, and what specific action moves you up a notch. A written acceptance procedure applied inconsistently, post-closure monitoring planned but not budgeted, a rejection log kept without review: these are intermediate situations that a binary finding does not capture, and that the maturity scale does.
The framework is ready to use in Datamensio. You can also adapt it: the AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels to your facility class and your operating permit, or builds a version from your own operational documents.
Reference standard: Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/850
The themes assessed
Facility classification and authorised scope
Landfill class chosen, consistency with the operating permit, delineation of cells, interface with the extractive waste regime, authorised capacities.
Waste acceptance procedure
Pre-acceptance, basic characterisation, compliance verification on receipt, on-site checks, delivery register and handling of rejections.
Prohibited waste and pre-treatment
Exclusion of liquid, explosive, corrosive and oxidising waste and of tyres, evidence of prior pre-treatment, sorting of separately collected streams.
Design, geological barrier and lining
Natural or reconstituted geological barrier, geomembrane, drainage layer, stability of dykes and slopes, measures against nuisance and intrusion.
Leachate management
Collection, storage, treatment and discharge, water balance, basin sealing, control of head levels at cell base.
Landfill gas
Capture on cells containing biodegradable waste, energy recovery or flaring, control of fugitive emissions, monitoring of the drain network.
Environmental monitoring and controls
Upstream and downstream piezometric network, baseline levels and alert thresholds, weather measurements, topography and settlement, frequency and use of results.
Costs, financial guarantees and provisions
Inclusion of operating, closure and monitoring costs in the acceptance price, guarantee amount and indexation, accounting provisions.
Closure and post-closure monitoring
Closure procedure, final cover, restoration, duration and content of post-closure monitoring, transfer of responsibility to the competent authority.
Stream diversion and landfill reduction
Trajectory for reducing landfilled volumes, material recovery, diversion indicators, traceability of outgoing streams.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this assessment replace an inspection or issue a certificate?
No. Directive 1999/31/EC is transposed into national law and enforced by the competent authorities as part of the operating permit. Datamensio measures the maturity of your practices and prepares you for inspection, it does not issue any certificate.
What is the difference between a compliance audit and a maturity assessment?
An audit checks whether a requirement is met and concludes with a gap or a compliance finding. The assessment places the practice on a progressive scale and identifies the action that moves it to the next level. The two complement each other: the assessment prepares, the inspection validates.
How is the boundary with Directive 2006/21/EC on extractive waste handled?
Waste resulting from the prospecting, extraction and processing of mineral resources falls under the extractive waste regime. Other waste deposited on the site falls under the landfill regime. The assessment addresses this classification from the first theme onwards, and the cross-cutting roadmap allows the two frameworks to be cross-referenced without duplicating actions.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version can be completed in one working session. The full version, run collaboratively with operations, the laboratory and the environment function, typically takes one to two weeks, with most of the time spent gathering monitoring data.
Can the framework be adapted to our facility class?
Yes. The questions, levels and themes can be modified, and the AI can produce a version specific to an inert, non-hazardous or hazardous waste landfill, based on your permit and your procedures. You retain full control of the framework.
Can several sites be compared with each other?
Yes. Each facility is assessed against the same framework, and scores per theme can be compared across business units and over time. The AI consolidates gaps across all sites into a prioritised roadmap, with cost, timeframe and score impact for each action.
Does the assessment cover post-closure monitoring?
Yes, it is a theme in its own right: content and duration of monitoring, final cover, residual surveillance, financial guarantee and conditions for transferring responsibility to the competent authority.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up with Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including European solutions.