Turning waste into resources

As Europe grows wealthier it creates more and more rubbish. Every man, woman and child in the EU generates over a kilo of waste every day. Multiply that figure by nearly half a billion EU citizens and it quickly becomes clear that managing our waste without harming the environment is a major headache.
European citizens are deeply concerned about the waste mountain building up around them and there is a growing realization that we cannot continue dumping vast quantities of rubbish without serious environmental consequences. But this has not stopped the amount of waste generated in Europe increasing by 10% between 1985 and 1995. There has been progress in some areas municipal waste has declined in some central European countries, composting and recycling rates have increased and there is less reliance on landfills but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development still estimates that by 2020 we could be generating 45% more waste than we did in 1995. Obviously we must reverse this trend if we are to avoid being submerged in rubbish.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Waste
• rubbish
• Environment
• Green
• EU
• Europe
• Dimas
• Commissioner
• landfills
• trash

[TNKeane]

Your thoughts? The irish environmental authorities have been turing a blind eye to unwashed chemical containers and contaminated silage plastics being exported. This waste ends up in China and Vietnam where it ends up being washed in rivers, often by children.