EEB

Waste

The Role of the EU

• The Role of the EU
• What is the EEB doing?
• Prevention
• WEEE Directive
• The effects of waste on other key environmental issues
• The WEEE Directive recast: from a good report to an even better law?

The role of the EU should be to promote innovations for waste minimisation and to integrate the different mechanisms into existing waste legislation that would contribute to waste minimisation.

Such mechanisms include: Ecodesign and individual producer responsibility; ecological tax reform; chemicals control policy; strict requirements for collection, recycling and treatment; and information and incentive instruments.

The following would strongly contribute to promoting the innovation and ambition necessary:

1. Member States taking the lead in domestic waste prevention policy to implement ambitious and innovative programs.
2. The European Commission ending the practice of stifling effective legislative mechanisms by giving economic objectives superiority over environmental ones.

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