New framework regulation of waste05/08/08 / cata_european-union-news
On 17 June 2008, the European Parliament approved a new directive on waste to supersede the current obsolete norm from 1975. The modernized approach to waste management should lead in particular to reduction of waste production.
This is reflected in a five-degree hierarchy of ways to handle waste that set forth an order of preferences, from preventing production of waste via repeated use, recycling and further use to, finally, ecological liquidation. The directive sets new objectives for waste recycling until 2020, when EU member states should achieve at least a 50% share for communal waste and even 70% share for construction and demolition waste. Preparation of national prevention plans is a further obligation. The directive simultaneously clarifies and defines certain important terms, including the term “waste” itself which should be differentiated from so-called side products. Thanks to the initiative of the Czech Republic, the restriction of waste import to countries with lower costs of waste liquidation constitutes part of the approved wording.