EEA/AEMA-Agencia Europea de Medio Ambiente – nuevo artículo «Europe needs to step up circular economy efforts, including on waste prevention»

The EEA briefing ‘How far is Europe from reaching its ambition to double the circular use of materials?’ shows that, in 2021, about 11.7% of all materials used in the EU came from recycled waste, up from 8.3% in 2004.

Enhanced recycling will speed up this progress but it needs to be complemented with reducing the overall material inputs to meet the target of doubling the share of recycled waste in the use of materials by 2030. Getting closer to the target could, for example, be achieved by increasing the recycling rate of all treated waste from current 40% to 70%, decreasing overall material inputs by 15%, and reducing the amount of fossil fuels used by 34%.  (…)»

«Monitoring waste prevention

Waste prevention is one of the key strategies to achieving a circular economy because it can reduce resource use, maximise the useful life of products and materials, and promote demand for more sustainable products. However, it remains difficult to establish a link between waste prevention policies and waste generation in the EU.

The EEA analysis ‘Tracking waste prevention progress’ proposes a new set of indicators dedicated to monitoring long-term trends in waste prevention. The indicators focus on the drivers of waste generation, waste prevention policies enablers, and resulting outcomes in reduced waste and emissions. Putting this monitoring framework in full use, however, requires more specific data and information collected across the EU in a systematic and harmonised way. 

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Supporting the two assessments, the EEA has also published updated ‘Waste prevention country fact sheets’, which show country-specific data and analysis on waste prevention efforts in EEA member and cooperation countries across Europe.

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