Why do some European cities handle garbage better than others
Europeans often congratulate themselves for their waste management system when crises of this nature occur in other countries. The recent garbage collectors strike in Malaga, Spain – resulting in huge rubbish piles that choked the streets – shows how not every EU member manages their waste well.
Why do some European countries have a good waste management system while others are plagued by disaster after catastrophe? You’d think that the EU would have issued some directive regarding waste disposal for its member countries.
All waste is not created equal.
One thing is that the amount of municipal garbage generated varies substantially among EU countries. In 2013, for example, it ranged from 747kg in Denmark to 272 kilograms in Romania. The amount of municipal waste generated in 2013 varied significantly between EU countries, ranging from 747kg per capita in Denmark to 272kg per capita in Romania.
In the EU, the primary method for municipal waste disposal and treatment has been landfill. A defining moment was in 1975 when EU legislation introduced what is known as the “waste hierarchy.”
The hierarchy of waste.
The waste hierarchy is a ranking of the different ways to reduce waste and manage it. The hierarchy prioritizes waste prevention: this could include using environmentally-friendly product designs, implementing local waste prevention plans, and financial disincentives such as landfill tax. The hierarchy gives priority to recycling, recovery, and direct re-use methods, such as using waste energy to generate heat or electricity.
The member states could choose to adopt this hierarchy, but it was expected that the law would include it. The hierarchy was intended to protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and reduce the amount of waste produced.
Slow to react
In the first two decades of the 20th century, only a few countries paid attention to this hierarchy. Throughout the 1990s, the EU continued to landfill at high levels. In 1999, the EU passed the Landfill Directive.
The targets set were not for the total amount of waste sent to landfill but rather for the amount of plant and food waste. Other directives stressed the importance of member states adopting the waste hierarchy. EU Waste Framework Directive was introduced in 2008 and set the goal that by 2020, 50% of municipal solid waste would be recycled or composted.
Even these broad targets do not guarantee successful waste management in Europe. Many countries violate European laws with no obvious consequences. For example, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Poland missed their 2010 and 2013 targets to divert biodegradable municipal garbage from landfills.
Every country has its own approach. There are many different combinations of recycling and composting, as well as incineration, landfilling, and other methods. Northern and central European nations have made the most progress when it comes to moving away from landfilling: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and the Netherlands all landfill less than 3 percent of their municipal waste. Meanwhile, countries in the south and east have made very little progress.
Not waste a thing.
This disparity is complicated. Factors include finance, political will, technical expertise, planning, and legal frameworks that are appropriate, as well as a variety of social, demographic, administrative, and cultural factors. In order to make decisions as close as possible to EU citizens, member states must develop waste management strategies that are tailored to their people.
Eastern European countries that are new to the EU, such as Lithuania and Slovakia, have not had the waste hierarchy imposed as a guideline. Implementing the waste hierarchy in a country is not easy: New laws, data collection systems, monitoring systems, and different collection and sorting methods for different types of waste must be established.
Barcelona’s waste management is a mess – but in a good sense. 1997/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
There are examples of good practices. It is better in countries with strong leadership and agreement across parties on environmental issues, such as Germany. Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland. Countries that view waste as an asset have also found innovative and productive ways to use it.
Wales is focusing on encouraging people to sort their waste properly for better recycling and to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The clever use of automated technologies, such as vacuum-powered underground waste disposal systems, has helped to keep streets clean in cities like Barcelona, London, and Copenhagen.
Effective waste management has many benefits for our health, business, and politics. These facts will eventually provide countries with the motivation they need to manage their waste effectively effectively. In the future, waste management will be more about our lifestyles and less about how we collect wastes.
