Ceepackaging

Environment

Industry urges action on waste

Ten European industry and commerce organisations have expressed their
concerns related to the current discussions in the European Parliament on the
waste management hierarc hy in the Waste Framework Directive. “We feel it is
necessary to highlight our shared misgivings about the rigid approach towards
the waste hierarchy and its application which is dominating the current political
discussions in the Parliament”, said a spokesperson of the coalition.
These significant industries and sectors share the view that regardless of how
many steps the waste hierarchy has it should be conceived as a guiding principle,
not a strict rule and that it needs to be realistic and workable, while respecting
the environmental, economic and social impacts of waste management measures.
That means placing prevention as the highest priority, and final disposal as the
least favoured option. “The hierarchy must be applied in a pragmatic and flexible
way since each local situation and each product and waste stream can be
different. Requiring additional and costly analysis on top of those required for the
waste management plans is not helpful and will not result in more efficient and
effective waste management”.
The coalition recognises the need to ensure a high level of environmental
protection in waste management policies, but believes that procedures requiring
justification by complex and expensive life-cycle analyses in all cases should not
be prescribed in the Directive. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for all local
circumstances and the waste hierarchy needs to reflect this. We need to move
from following ideology to applying methodology, seeking out eco-efficient
solutions based on proportionate cost-benefit values” the spokesperson
concluded.