Resource efficiency and waste
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The global environmental problems we face today are largely the result of human overexploitation of natural resources, including (fossil) fuels, minerals, water, land and biodiversity. It has become increasingly clear that Europe's prevailing model of economic development — based on high resource use, waste generation and pollution — cannot be sustained in the long term. Today, the European Union (EU) is heavily reliant on imports and we need twice the total land area of the EU to meet our resource demands. Many of the resources are only in use for a short period of time, or they are lost to the economy through being landfilled or downcycled (involving a decrease of quality during recovery operations). More
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Europe uses natural resources unsustainably and the European Union has put in place policies on circular economy and bioeconomy in response. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report argues that implementing these two concepts in tandem, by applying specific design principles within a systemic approach, would improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental pressures.
Reuse of products can reduce material demand and prevent waste, which are important aspects of EU waste policy and essential for achieving a circular economy. However, current approaches to promote reuse in Member States are diverse and rely mostly on voluntary arrangements, according to a European Environment Agency report, published today. While reuse is an established market model for some products, such as cars, similar practices are still in their infancy for most other product groups.
New data collected by citizens: Cigarette butts and filters the most common pieces of litter on Europe’s beaches
News 08 Jun 2018The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released new data about litter found on Europe’s beaches. Based on nearly 700,000 collected items, disposable plastics are the biggest contributor to marine litter, with cigarette butts and filters being the most commonly found individual items. The new data has been collected by volunteers using the EEA’s Marine LitterWatch mobile app.
How did you get to work or school today? By car, bicycle or public transport? Every day we make decisions that can impact the environment. Some of our daily decisions are conscious efforts to live in a cleaner and healthier environment. The video competition ‘I LIVE GREEN’, organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its partner network, invites all Europeans to show their creativity and to share their actions to help the environment. The best videos will receive a cash prize.
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To most people the idea of a circular economy remains an abstract if not far-off concept. While ‘going green’ is a growing popular theme around the world, many people are not yet aware of the greater changes to our way of living that will have to be made to ensure a sustainable future, and secure our long-term well-being.
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This is the third in a series of reports on the circular economy in support of the framing, implementation and evaluation of European circular economy policy from an environmental perspective. The two previous reports applied a systemic approach to framing a circular economy and to the products within it. This report on the bioeconomy addresses circularity aspects of bio-based products and the sustainable use of renewable natural resources.
Using Member States information on policies and measures to support policymaking: energy efficiency in buildings
Publication 06 Jul 2018In line with EU legislation, Member States report information on their policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This information is used to monitor climate action at a national level. It is also important for supporting policy evaluation and informing policy decisions. This briefing presents the results of two case studies analysing policies and measures targeting energy efficiency in buildings.
This is the fourth EEA report in a series of annual reviews of waste prevention programmes in Europe as stipulated in the European Union (EU) Waste Framework Directive (EU, 2008). This year's review focuses on reuse and covers 33 national and regional waste prevention programmes that had been adopted by the end of 2017
Marine Litter Watch - Citizens collect plastic and data to protect Europe's marine environment
Publication 08 Jun 2018This briefing highlights the work and results of the Marine Litter Watch clean-up activities held on the beaches of Europe’s four regional seas (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the North-East Atlantic Ocean) between 2014 and 2017. It also presents the top ten litter items found and attempts to link them to the most likely litter sources.
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