KSZGYSZ PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE

Landfilling: last resort?

In the waste hierarchy, landfilling represents the final option—used to isolate waste from the environment and prevent long-term harm to human health, ecosystems, and the quality of air, water, and soil. At the same time, European policy clearly signals that this option must be minimized. The goal is to keep materials in circulation wherever possible, and where disposal is unavoidable, to ensure safe, long-term containment with no lasting environmental impact.

EU targets require municipal waste landfilling to be reduced below 10% of generated waste, recyclable fractions to be excluded entirely, and remaining waste to be managed under the strictest environmental safeguards. Achieving these ambitions raises critical questions:

Which technical, legal, and economic instruments can effectively reduce landfilling? What are today’s best available technologies for landfill design, operation, closure, aftercare, and impact monitoring? Is landfilling truly the “last solution”—or are we burying valuable resources that could still be recovered and reused?

This conference provides a comprehensive forum to examine the evolving role of landfills in modern waste management, from regulatory compliance to innovation, resource recovery, and environmental protection.

Key topics include:

• Best Available Techniques (BAT) requirements for waste disposal
• Reducing landfilling: landfill sites as integrated waste treatment centers
• Landfills as potential sources of secondary raw materials
• Reclamation and recultivation of landfill sites
• Managing and monitoring the environmental impacts of landfills

The program also features an open meeting held within a Regional Chapter session, with the participation of the leadership of the ISWA Landfill Working Group, offering direct insight into international perspectives and ongoing initiatives.