The effectiveness of waste management strategies in the European Union with emphasis on the legal regime regulating waste

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 1970s the European Union had untangled growing concerns about the on-going damage being done to the environment back then by enacting the first 'green laws'. Years have gone by and the European Union has recognized the need to continue developing this sector to the point that now environment protection is given paramount importance. Waste has been one of the maJor issues as regards the making of new environmental laws. The issue of waste management has raised headlines and the European Union sought, as from the beginning, to tackle it in the most effective way. Considering the fact that waste is an inevitable and inherent product of our social, economic and cultural life, the permeation of waste laws in national legislation was not an easy task. The chapters which will follow will be assessing the actual effectiveness that various Directives concerning the management of waste had on the respective Member States. Chapter 2 accentuates the first encounters with waste minimisation, while Chapter 3 seeks a more comprehensive approach by running through the Six Environmental Action Programmes adopted till now. Various International Treaties have had a considerable influence on the European Union, thus an impact on its Member States. Chapter 4 investigates these International Treaties of which the European Union has been a main signatory. The last chapter gives a thorough overview of the chronological events in the formation of the waste management sector. Sustainable waste management involves the appropriate treatment (re-use, materials recovery, energy recovery or safe disposal) of each component of the potential waste stream at an appropriate stage in the resource cycle. Different components will require different treatments, so the way forward has to involve separation of wastes, probably mainly at source, to ensure an effective overall contribution to the energy and carbon balance. Finally, the conclusion which, attentively and neutrally deducts if the waste management strategies of the European Union have been fruitful in the 'greening' of national waste laws.