How can waste policy contribute to a resource-efficient economy?

News Published 20 Apr 2010 Last modified 31 Aug 2016
1 min read
Some countries are frontrunners on waste recycling and prevention; others could be inspired by these experiences. The European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ETC/SCP) have compiled a set of fact sheets presenting information on national strategies, targets and instruments for prevention and better management of waste.

Full implementation of EU waste policies, moving from disposal to waste prevention, re-use and recycling, is still a big challenge for many countries. We not only have to stop illegal landfilling and export, but also stem the loss of resources through disposal, especially where waste can be used as part of a resource-efficient economy

Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of EEA.

Member States use different approaches to meet the objectives set by EU waste legislation. Some have already experienced success with certain strategies and specific policy instruments. Did they use a regulatory instrument such as banning landfilling of specific waste types or a market-based instrument such as landfill tax? Have they set targets beyond the ones laid down in EU legislation? In addition to the policies implemented and their results, the 20 country fact sheets provide an overview of the legislative frameworks and waste management plans.

'Full implementation of EU waste policies, moving from disposal to waste prevention, re-use and recycling, is still a big challenge for many countries. We not only have to stop illegal landfilling and export, but also stem the loss of resources through disposal, especially where waste can be used as part of a resource-efficient economy,' said Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of EEA. 

More specifically, the fact sheets also list national approaches, targets and policy instruments related to the following three objectives:

 

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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?
The road from landfilling to recycling: common destination, different routes

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