Conservative MEP Wins Support To Scrap Rising Levels Of Waste
Posted, February 13, 2007 @ 16:00
Call for commitment to stabilise at 2008 level is endorsed as amount of waste produced across Europe increases each year
Strasbourg, 13 February 2007 -- The amount of rubbish we throw out could stabilise at next year's level, thanks to a proposal from Conservative rapporteur on the Waste Framework Directive Caroline Jackson MEP endorsed in Strasbourg today.
The Directive, which MEPs have adopted, could shape the next 50 years of EU policy on waste management.
Adopting Dr Jackson's report this afternoon, MEPs have:
- approved the idea of a five-stage hierarchy of waste disposal options
- endorsed Dr Jackson's suggestion that the Commission bring forward a proposal on waste prevention
- accepted the idea that an energy-from-waste plant can qualify as a 'recovery' operation, although they disagreed over the precise formula to be applied
"This is a victory for those who, like me, believe that energy from waste has a part to play in dealing with the waste we must divert from landfill in future," said Dr Jackson.
The waste prevention proposal would aim to stabilise waste production at 2008 levels by 2012. Currently, municipal solid waste is predicted to increase by more than 40 per cent by 2020 compared to 1995 levels.
The Directive, a successor to the first Waste Framework Directive, adopted in 1975 and revised in 1991, is important in defining terms.
But Dr Jackson added: "It's no good the EU being a world leader in waste terminology if it continues to be a world leader in waste generation.
"I am delighted that the Parliament adopted my report by such a large margin."