As part of the implementation of the IPPC Directive the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for waste treatment, industries are being identified and described in the BAT REFerence document (BREF) "waste treatment industries". Ecologic is compiling the best available techniques of selected waste treatment facilities relevant to Germany.

The implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC-Directive) should help to prevent or reduce emissions from industrial plants to air, water and soil through an integrated concept to the greatest extent possible. The Directive aims at a general European harmonisation which will contribute to both environmental protection and the reduction of distortions of competition between locations. One instrument which is central to the realisation of its goals is the creation of BREFs which lay down the best available techniques (BAT) in Europe for different types of industrial plants.

These BREF documents seek to assist the responsible authorities across Europe in issuing permits for industrial plants. In addition to the best available techniques, the BREFs also contain emission and consumption data, which give them a great factual weight in the approval of industrial plants. The documents are prepared in the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (EIPPCB) based in Sevilla and by the "Technical Working Groups", which are composed of representatives of the Member States, industry and environmental organisations. The preparation of the documents occurs through a formalised information exchange, the so-called Sevilla process.

Ecologic is supporting the German Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) with the research and development project entitled "Identification of the state of the art of waste treatment facilities in Germany".

The project is subdivided into two parts:

1. A study is compiled which records the best available techniques of selected waste treatment facilities relevant to Germany. The results of the study are incorporated, as the German position, into the formulation of the European BAT Reference document "waste treatment industries".
2. Additionally, Ecologic supports the German Environmental Agency in the Sevilla process, which is a process of national and European information exchange. Activities include the communication and information exchange with German experts, the preparation and organisation of expert meetings, and establishing the German position and its insertion into the European process. Ecologic will present the German position at a meeting of the Technical Working Group in Sevilla in spring 2004. Ecologic also created an event's webpage which provides further information about the national expert meeting.