Waste

© Miodrag Dakic, Center for Environment

In western countries the two main waste management techniques are landfill and incineration, combined with waste separation and recycling schemes. However, waste management in the EU is still dealing with the consequences rather than the cause of waste production. Measures related to waste prevention, reuse, recycle, clean production, and biodegradation are still being only sporadically implemented.

Although the EU Commission recognised in July 2005 that “... landfill and incineration, [are] the least favourable end-of pipe solutions”, such projects are widely promoted in central and eastern European countries and supported by the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the EU funds and other IFIs. In some of the region’s countries separate collection systems do not even exist, nor are they on the agenda for the next programming period 2007-2013. However, these countries have great potential to establish better waste management schemes based not on expensive and often controversial end-of-pipe solutions, but prevention, reduce, reuse, recycle and recovery measures.

Bankwatch is committed to shifting public finances towards sustainable schemes of waste management across central and eastern Europe. Bankwatch’s member groups are actively engaged in providing and promoting good practices and alternative solutions, waste prevention, clean production, re-use, recycle, and improving and enforcing the implementation of European environmental and waste legislation.