The European Environment Agency (EAA) has published a report reviewing municipal solid waste management from 2001-2010 in 32 European countries.
The publication reviews progress achieved toward the EU's 50% recycling target for waste from households by 2020.
According to the analysis, 11 countries have met or are on track to meet the target, but the remaining 21 will have to make “an extraordinary effort” to reach the target on time.
19 March 2013: The European Environment Agency (EAA) has published a report reviewing municipal solid waste management from 2001-2010 in 32 European countries. The publication reviews progress achieved toward the EU’s 50% recycling target for waste from households by 2020. According to the analysis, 11 countries have met or are on track to meet the target, but the remaining 21 will have to make “an extraordinary effort” to reach the target on time.
The report, “Managing municipal solid waste – a review of achievements in 32 European countries,” is the result of a joint pilot project between the European Commission and the EEA, which in 2011 agreed to enhance knowledge on the implementation of waste policies in the EU-27 Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The report offers an overview of results from the first part of this pilot study. Separate country-by-country reports present national initiatives and outcomes in further detail.
According to the report, only a small number of countries reduced their municipal waste output between 2001 and 2010, but most countries showed a clear shift away from landfilling and toward preferred waste management practices, including recycling. The report notes substantial increases in the proportion of municipal waste recycled between 2001 and 2010: 12 countries increased the percentage recycled by more than 10 percentage points (calculated as a share of municipal waste generated); another ten achieved increases of between five and ten percentage points; and the remainder showed no increases. If such trends continue, the report predicts, some countries will achieve EU targets on diverting waste from landfill, but the majority will need to accelerate their shift to recycling in order to achieve the 50% target by 2020.
Other key findings include: evidence that landfill taxes play an important role in incentivizing a shift from waste disposal to recycling; the importance of regional and local implementation to increasing municipal waste recycling rates; the benefits of better waste management for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and the need to harmonize national reporting methodologies for municipal waste. [Publication: Managing municipal solid waste — a review of achievements in 32 European countries]