Publications about resource efficiency

The European environment – state and outlook 2010: Synthesis

The SOER 2010 Synthesis provides an overview of the European environment's state, trends and prospects, integrating the main findings of SOER 2010.

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Diverting waste from landfill - Effectiveness of waste-management policies in the European Union

Issued in 1999, the Landfill Directive marked a decisive shift from landfill towards the EU's new waste hierarchy, which prioritises waste prevention, followed by re-use, recycling and recovery, and seeks to avoid landfilling wherever feasible. The Landfill Directive set targets for progressively reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled in the period to 2016. A decade on from the Landfill Directive's enactment seems a fitting time to review progress and extract key lessons for policy-makers in Europe and elsewhere. Through individual and comparative analyses of waste management in five countries and one sub-national region (Estonia, Finland, the Flemish Region of Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy), as well as an econometric analysis of the EU–25 Member States, this report seeks to answer a number of important questions, including: To what extent was waste management practice changed in the last decade? How much of the change was due to the Landfill Directive (and other EU instruments)? What measures and institutional arrangements did countries introduce? Which measures and arrangements proved most effective in different national and regional contexts?

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Better management of municipal waste will reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Better management of municipal waste will reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Read More…

The road from landfilling to recycling: common destination, different routes

The road from landfilling to recycling: common destination, different routes - Read More…

Paper and cardboard - recovery or disposal?

Review of life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis on the recovery and disposal of paper and cardboard

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Linking cross border movements of waste in the EU and the circular economy

UPCOMING - Shipments of waste across EU Member States borders has the potential to lead to higher recycling quality and a strengthening of markets dealing with secondary material resources. This improvement will lead to a better recovery of the material value that is generated as waste in the EU. This briefing attempts to collect and consolidate knowledge and data around shipments of recyclables and waste destined for incineration within the EU in order to a) provide a snap shot of the current status quo and b) analyse the links between improved cross-border trade of recyclables and the circular economy.

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