On 30 January 2026, the European Commission (“Commission“) decided to send a reasoned opinion to Czechia (INFR(2022)2017) for failing to correctly apply the Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/850) and the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC as amended by Directive(EU)2018/851). The Landfill Directive sets standards for landfills to prevent adverse effects on human health, water, soil and air. Under this Directive, Member States must take measures to ensure that only waste that has been subject to treatment is landfilled. Under the Waste Framework Directive, Member States must recover and dispose of waste in a manner that does not endanger human health and the environment.

The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Czechia already in April 2022. However, the identified shortcomings have not yet been remedied. Firstly, Czechia has not transposed correctly the obligation to pre-treat waste before landfilling. Indeed, the Czech legislation allows waste to be landfilled if there is a separate collection system in place, while the Landfill Directive requires that only waste that has been subject to treatment is landfilled. Furthermore, recyclables and biodegradable waste reach landfill sites where the disposed waste is not treated with an adequate selection of different fractions of waste; also, the organic fraction of disposed waste is not stabilised before being landfilled. This concerns all 118 landfills of municipal waste currently in operation in Czechia.

The Commission notes that excessive reliance on solutions to increase the capacity to treat mixed waste, such as mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) or incineration capacity, would be counterproductive. Czechia has not yet taken all the planned measures to support separate collection of municipal waste, such as increase of landfilling fees and an introduction of the ‘pay as you throw’ principle. The Commission has also identified several challenges and opportunities in the 2023 Early warning report. Therefore, the Commission decided to issue a reasoned opinion to Czechia, which now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.