Waste Management
It is estimated by the European Environment Agency that in the EU alone we dispose of 1.3 billion tonnes of waste per year, representing approximately 3.5 tonnes per person. The generation of waste poses a twofold risk to the environment, as well as being an economic burden to society. That waste is generated at all means that resources (ie materials and energy) are being lost. Secondly, once waste has been generated it must be collected, treated and disposed of, and this process involves the further use of resources and poses a potential pollution hazard. Dealing with waste, therefore, incorporates the mitigation of a whole raft of environmental problems including natural resources use, energy consumption, the generation of climate forcing gases, and contamination of water, soil and air. Waste has historically increased with economic growth, and as European societies have become wealthier, waste generation has spiralled.
Waste was recognised early on in the EU's history as a key issue to be addressed, leading in 1975 to the first waste framework Directive. This key piece of legislation sought to set out a coherent set of measures applicable in all Member States, and was rapidly followed by a range of EU measures addressing specific issues such as hazardous waste, waste shipment, PCBs, packaging and the landfilling of waste. As with much other environmental legislation, however, the early waste measures were generally 'end-of-pipe', ie attempting to address problems once waste had already been generated. The policy process is now trying to refocus with efforts to take a more life cycle approach to waste management and generation focusing on the waste prevention, then opportunities for reuse and recycling, followed by managing waste once produced. This is accompanied by parallel efforts to minimise natural resource use, and to promote eco-design and sustainable consumption and production.
Waste is integral to many of the issues on which IEEP carries out research. The Institute has a history of analysing waste issues both as a stand alone concept and as part of other thematic work such as projects looking at the impacts of agriculture on the environment. As outlined above there is an eclectic mix of issues associated with EU waste policy. IEEP has been actively involved in working on a variety of these including:
- why is waste generated - investigating the social and political context, which leads to the generation of waste;
- the effectiveness of waste policy and the implications of EU measures in practice;
- informing the development of waste policy at an EU level;
- analysing and reporting on the use of economic and other policy instruments on waste - taxes and charges, trading schemes, and voluntary agreements;
- implementation of waste policy across the EU and the implications for EU Accession Countries, including the benefits of implementing the EU acquis in the new Member States; and
- tracking developments in EU waste policy and commenting on the implications.
For details of reports completed by IEEP on waste, please select 'Waste' in the quick search menu.
For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Catherine Bowyer, Peter Hjerp