Managing waste to attract investment and create jobs

Managing waste properly is expensive, but if done efficiently it can attract investment and create jobs, says a resolution adopted by Parliament on Thursday. The text addresses issues raised by citizens in the Petitions Committee to do with the enforcement of EU laws on waste management.

Major investments are required to set up proper waste management facilities, but more efficient waste processing "provides opportunities for both employment and revenue enhancement" while ensuring respect for the environment through reuse, recycling and recovery of energy from waste, stresses the resolution, adding that the recycling industry offers a potential of up to half a million jobs.

Parliament calls on the Commission to propose clearer and more specific criteria for the location of landfills and their closeness to houses, schools or hospitals. This would reduce potential risks to public health and the environment.

MEPs also propose a common EU standard for colour-coding categories of waste for sorting and recycling. This would make it easier for citizens to understand waste processing and would help increase recycling rates.

"We have got homework to do in this field, we really have to remain vigilant and ensure that EU legislation is properly implemented by Member States. This problem is caused by the inability of public authorities of many EU countries to deal in a satisfactory way with the problem of waste management", said rapporteur Carlos Iturgaiz (EPP, ES) in a debate preceding the vote.

Applying waste laws

Member States should apply all EU laws on waste management without further delay, and in particular the 2008 framework directive on waste, which sets recycling, reuse and recovery targets and introduces national management plans and prevention programmes. The deadline for transposing the directive into national laws was December 2010, yet only six Member States have complied so far.

Lack of properly trained staff at local and regional level, failure to allocate enough resources, as well as a fine system, and lack of proper controls at EU level are Member States' main problems, stress MEPs, adding that on-site inspections should be strengthened at national and EU level.

Organised crime

Parliament calls for measures to combat any infiltration of waste management by organised crime and to prevent any connections between criminal organisations and industry or public authorities. If public funds are allocated to companies to manage waste processing, "effective financial monitoring over the use of these funds should be put in place by local and/or national authorities", says the resolution.

The resolution was passed with 632 votes in favour, 18 against and 22 abstentions.

Background

Any EU citizen or resident may, individually or in association with others, submit a petition to the European Parliament on a subject within the EU's fields of activity and which affects her or him directly.

The Petitions Committee received 114 complaints in 2004-2010 alleging breaches of EU law on waste treatment. These petitions came from Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Ireland (over 10 petitions each), Bulgaria, the UK, Poland, Romania, Germany (3-10 petitions each), Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia (1 petition each).

The Petitions Committee has also drafted five reports on fact-finding visits related to complaints on waste from Ireland, Fos-sur-Mer (France), Path Head landfill (UK), Campania (Italy) and Huelva (Spain).

Procedure:  Non-legislative resolution