The old continent is full of garbage. Just imagine: each year nearly 2 billion tonnes of solid waste are created in the EU. This means that each EU citizen ought to consider the disposal or recycling of 3.5 tonnes of garbage. This, however, is not the case: less than 30% of garbage is recycled. This average is a result of the fact that in some member states 90% of communal waste is stored at landfills, while in other states this proportion is only 10%. The European Parliament wanted to put an end to this situation when it passed the Directive on Waste Management this June. The complex expression covers tough regulations, which mean that by 2020 EU member states must reach a target of 50% of their paper, iron and glass waste being recycled. In the case of waste building materials this ratio must reach 70%. Member states, however cannot ”get off” with this alone: within five years they must work out waste management plans and programmes aimed at preventing the creation of garbage, so that the garbage mountain we are already sitting on would not get any higher…
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