European Waste Directors tackle the downturn of recycling markets
On Monday 16 February European Waste Directors met in Prague to resolve the impacts of the economic crisis on the recycling markets in EU Member States.
Representatives of the EU Member States agreed on the necessity to enforce suitable measures to support and safeguard the recycling markets. They then negotiated detailed proposals as to how to handle the downturn. The findings from the meeting will serve as the basis for EU Council discussions on the environment that will take place on 2 March in Brussels.
The participants proposed a range of specific measures to stabilise the European recycling management system, e.g. seeking new recycling markets, ensuring the capability to process recycled matter, tax relief aimed at supporting recycling markets, use of products from recycled matter in public contracts (for example material for construction of anti-noise screens along motorways and railways). They also proposed that the European Commission should prepare a detailed, up-to-date analysis of the flows of recycled matter and the capacity of facilities for processing and using them in the European Union. In particular, a common aim of EU Member States is to increase the Union's self-sufficiency in processing its own waste in accordance with the stipulated recycling management hierarchy.
The Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic proposed several measures to support recycling as part of the Czech Government's anti crisis package. These measures would reduce our dependence on import of primary raw material sources, help expand job opportunities in the recycling industry and at the same time restrict pollution of the environment. The Ministry also offered aid from the Operational Programme Environment to support, among other things, high-quality waste sorting in municipalities and construction of final sorting lines.
"The downturn of the recycling markets is a consequence of the global economic crisis. Paper, plastic, glass and scrap iron are very important secondary raw materials that can be used instead of primary raw material sources, thus protecting the environment significantly," said Veronika Hunt Šafránková, Director of the EU Department, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, who also led the entire discussion.
"The proposed measures will lead not only to stabilisation, but also to further expansion and improvement of waste sorting systems in individual EU Member States," said Zdeňka Bubeníková, Director of Waste Management, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
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Datum aktualizace: 16.8.2011 15:46
