Landfillers pay CZK 3 billion in dividends abroad. And that is where the dog is buried.
Compared to many others, the Czech Circular Economy Association was established relatively recently, only in 2016. Compared to last year, the number of members of the association has doubled and many more companies are interested in joining.
The reasons for joining are quite simple: companies that are serious about transforming the Czech waste management into a circular one need information, they need patronage, they need a broader professional background to promote their views and positions on often very partial issues. For example, in the field of end-of-life products, manufacturing industry, etc. All members of the ČAObH have the opportunity to submit their amendments to newly translated laws or their implementing regulations in the framework of the comment procedure, to nominate their experts to the advisory boards of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic through their membership, and also to gain background for their marketing activities by participating in conferences, seminars or trade fairs, where the ČAObH are either independent organizers of these events or co-organizers with renowned companies such as the Brno Trade Fairs, a.The still forming and emerging waste legislation was the cause of several questions to Miloš Kužvart, Director of ČAObH.
What do you think are the main reasons for the lengthy negotiations in the creation of legislation with a still unclear outcome?
There is a lot of big money involved in waste management, where there is certainty about the future of the industry compared to other areas of human endeavour (cynically, the funeral industry is similarly situated). And thanks to huge lobbying pressures, it often happens that completely opposing views or interests of companies involved in waste collection and management meet at the Ministry of Environment.
I have had the opportunity recently to learn a lot about the background to the repeated unsuccessful attempts of the Ministry of the Environment to pass at least the Legislative Council of the Government (LCG), when the Ministry of the Environment repeatedly submitted its proposals only to have them repeatedly rejected. So if the legislation passes the LRC, then the government, an even more complex process begins: how to get this legislation through the House of Commons in a situation of a minority government, when we have only 94 votes from the coalition MPs, and how to get it through the Senate, which is very critical of the current governing coalition.
And here I will remind you of my own experience, when I myself worked as a Member of Parliament between 2002 and 2006: for such complex legislation that affects every citizen, I would have demanded, as a Member of Parliament, that the time limits for consideration be extended so that the relevant subcommittees could also deal with these proposals in detail.
And my other personal experience: in 1994-1995 I worked for the Delegation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic and based on my own experience of the functioning of the huge EC apparatus I cannot imagine how our Republic would be financially sanctioned next summer for being several months "late" in adopting the necessary legislation.
And for a fully unspoken reflection at the end of this question: yes, we know that certain interest groups are saying, quite openly, "we will cut the laws again". In order to overcome this possible scenario, it is essential to have a clear political vision, to get the business, municipal and university communities on side through sustained communication, and to try to find the best possible solution for our country to end the landfill lobby's more than 10-year-long feast. Or are we going to continue to pile up our usable waste or pour it into pits, while importing secondary raw materials from abroad at a high cost? Yet landfills do not have infinite capacity: the total spare capacity of landfills according to CENIA is 68 259 650 tonnes to date.
All the surrounding states, not only to the west of us, but also to the east, have already started raising fees. And often very dramatically. In our country, time seems to have stopped. What are the reasons for the zero increase in landfill fees so far? And even the proposed increase in this fee is very inadequate. Why is it going everywhere and not here? To what extent are we damaging our waste management?
Here I regret to say that we have lost a whole decade. After the adoption of the Waste Act in 2001, the landfill fee was automatically increased by CZK 50 every year; today it would be CZK 1 000 per tonne. But the turning point came when this automatic increase was abolished. And landfilling has become a hugely attractive business thanks to its cheapness. It was profitable for many companies, especially landfill companies, which now pay about CZK 3 billion in dividends to their foreign owners every year. It was and is simply the cheapest way of dealing with waste.
The fact that the landfill lobby pushed for this is a sad testament to the power of money. And there is a clear desire to continue to live at the expense of the future, what else is the furore at the end of last year about postponing the ban on landfill of recoverable components of WEEE for another six years...
As for the expected level of the landfill tax, my experience as a Member of Parliament tells me that there will be a heated debate in the House and then in the Senate. I am not hiding the social sensitivity of the subject, but that starts with the several-fold increase in the separate landfill tax, because only a very small part of that increase will be reflected in the payments made by citizens. However, the increase in the landfill fee envisaged in the draft Waste Act is so small that it will not motivate anyone to recycle more of the usable components. Perhaps in another 10 years or so.
So now we are facing a decisive moment as to whether the Czech Republic will follow the path of modernisation, investment and ultimately a more environmentally friendly management of natural resources. Yes, it will cost something, but the current "love" is at the expense of future generations, thanks to the growing deficit in the so-called Reclamation Account, it is only postponing our payments to our children, or rather our grandchildren.
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