Europe – the road from landfilling to recycling: common destination, different routes

A new brochure from the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents the EEA‘‘s new country factsheets on waste policies and trends across the EU-25, and summarises some patterns in approaches to waste management that are highlighted by the factsheets.



Achieving effective policy outcomes: the importance of tailoring waste management policies to national conditions



Each country‘‘s waste generation profile varies according to numerous factors including economic growth, population density and consumer behaviour. Waste management choices depend on the existing waste management facilities, infrastructure and governance structures. EU waste policy is instrumental for determining the potential outcomes to be achieved, but country-level policies determine the actual outcome. To gain insights into whether a strategic shift in broader waste management has occurred, the EEA is analysing the approaches and combinations of policy instruments that countries are taking in the management of their municipal waste, particularly in the context of the Landfill Directive.



Country factsheets on waste policies and trends across the EU-25: a useful ‘‘one-stopshop‘‘ for information



The EEA and its Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management has carried out a survey of municipal waste policies and trends across the EU-25, and has consolidated the results into one easily-referenced source; a set of 25 country factsheets, freely available at:



http://waste.eionet.europa.eu/etcwmf/publications/factsheet.



The factsheets contain information about:



§ national legislative frameworks on waste



§ national policies, implemented or planned, to shift waste management practices in a less environmentally harmful direction according to the waste hierarchy



§ data on waste generation and management



§ list of tools and instruments, implemented or planned at national or regional level that aim to manage municipal waste and used tyres according to the waste hierarchy.



The EEA brochure paints an interesting portrait of Euroean nations and their waste management performances.



Patterns in approaches to waste management: the emergence of three country groupings



The EEA‘‘s country factsheets show that broadly speaking countries can be categorised under three waste management ‘‘groupings‘‘, according to the strategies for diversion of municipal waste away from landfill and the relative shares of landfilling, material recovery (mainly recycling and composting) and incineration.



§ The first grouping comprises countries which maintain high levels of both material recovery and incineration, and which have relatively low landfill levels.



§ The second grouping brings together countries with high material recovery rates and medium incineration levels and where there is a medium dependence on landfill.



§ The third grouping contains those countries whose material recovery and incineration levels are both low and whose dependence on landfill is relatively high.