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50 years of protecting Europe's environment: Today the European Union has the most environmentally friendly arsenal of rules in the world and has done more to tackle pressing ecological problems, such as climate change, than any other major power. But it has not always been like this. Caring for the environment did not feature in the Treaty of Rome, the document that gave birth to the modern day EU. Yet environmental problems were never far away. Europe’s love affair with the car was moving into top gear, industry was busy belching out pollutants and raw sewage was being pumped into our rivers and seas.
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Average annual percentage point increase needed in 32 European countries to reach 50 % recycling by 2020 and past rates achieved: The yearly average percentage point increase required by each country between 2010 and 2020 to reach the 50 % target and compared with the rates achieved in 2001–2006 and 2001–2010.
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Better management of municipal waste will reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Located in Publications
Big potential of cutting greenhouse gases from waste: There is a big potential to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) from municipal solid waste management, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report, 'Waste opportunities – Past and future climate benefits from better municipal waste management in Europe', covers the EU-27 (excluding Cyprus), Norway and Switzerland. It estimates that these countries could make GHG savings of up to 78 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) by 2020, or 1.53 % of Europe's emissions in 2008.
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Bio-waste recycling as a percentage of municipal waste generation in 32 European countries, 2001 and 2010: Bio-waste recycling in 32 European countries as a percentage of total municipal waste generated in 2001 and 2010
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Business and environment: Eco-technologies: Green innovation for sustainable development. The European Union’s environmental technologies industry is a promising industrial sector with a vast potential for growth. At present it employs more than 2 million people across the Union and has a market value of roughly €200 billion. The EU is a leading supplier of environmental technologies in the world, representing about one-third of the global market for these technologies. It is for their environmental benefits but also for their contribution to economic growth that the European Commission is actively promoting the development and the uptake of environmental technologies.
Located in Environmental topics › Green economy › Multimedia
Development of municipal waste management in 32 European countries, 2001–2010: The amount of municipal waste related to treatment in million tonnes
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Diverting waste from landfill - Effectiveness of waste-management policies in the European Union: Issued in 1999, the Landfill Directive marked a decisive shift from landfill towards the EU's new waste hierarchy, which prioritises waste prevention, followed by re-use, recycling and recovery, and seeks to avoid landfilling wherever feasible. The Landfill Directive set targets for progressively reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled in the period to 2016. A decade on from the Landfill Directive's enactment seems a fitting time to review progress and extract key lessons for policy-makers in Europe and elsewhere. Through individual and comparative analyses of waste management in five countries and one sub-national region (Estonia, Finland, the Flemish Region of Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy), as well as an econometric analysis of the EU–25 Member States, this report seeks to answer a number of important questions, including: To what extent was waste management practice changed in the last decade? How much of the change was due to the Landfill Directive (and other EU instruments)? What measures and institutional arrangements did countries introduce? Which measures and arrangements proved most effective in different national and regional contexts?
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Earnings, jobs and innovation: the role of recycling in a green economy: This short report explains the role of recycling in the green economy and examines the evidence of its contribution in Europe, focusing primarily on the economic benefits that recycling offers.
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EEA report 1/2006 - Using the market for cost-effective environmental policy: Located in Publications