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Material resources and waste — SOER 2010 thematic assessment: The European economy needs huge amounts of resources to function. Apart from consuming minerals, metals, concrete and wood, Europe burns fossil fuels and uses land to satisfy the needs of its citizens. Demand for materials is so intense that between 20 and 30 % of the resources we use are now imported. At the other end of the materials chain, the EU economy generates around six tons of waste per person every year. With the boom in international trade, EU consumption and production may potentially damage ecosystems and human health not only within but also far beyond its borders.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
National and regional story (Luxembourg) - 2 - The ‘SuperDrecksKëscht’ Action: SOER National and regional story from Luxembourg - 2 - The ‘SuperDrecksKëscht’ Action: a success story in managing hazardous waste
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Luxembourg
Waste - Outlook 2020 (Latvia): SOER Common environmental theme from Latvia
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Latvia
Waste - Outlook 2020 (Finland): Waste - Outlook
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Finland
Waste - State and impacts (Finland): Waste - State and Impacts
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Finland
Waste - Outlook 2020 (Croatia): SOER Common environmental theme from Croatia
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Croatia
Waste - State and impacts (Sweden): State and impact of waste on the natural environment and on human health. Links to further national information on waste.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Country assessments › Sweden
Photos: Located in The Environmental Atlas › Environmental Atlas of Europe › Mission GREENland - For a cleaner future
Generation and recycling of packaging waste (CSI 017/waste 002) - Assessment published Mar 2010: The generation of packaging waste per capita in EU is growing, although there are signs of this increase slowing down. This slowing down rate could be attributed to the change of packaging materials, as the largest increase occurs for paper and plastics. The EU policy objective ( Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste) for packaging waste prevention does not seem to be applied yet. In 2008 packaging waste was reduced but it is difficult to attribute this change either to effective waste prevention (decoupling of waste from GDP) or to the reduction of GDP (no decoupling). The recycling schemes appear to be quite effective for this waste stream. After 2000, recycling covers more than 50% of the treatment, a lot higher than the 25% target for 2001. In 2008, recycling covered 61%, already exceeding the 55% for 2008. Figure 5 shows, however, that in many countries there is still room for improvement.
Located in Data and maps › Indicators › Generation and recycling of packaging waste
Recycling of packaging waste by country, 2007: Recycle of packaging waste
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs