The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Rule 120 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas every year some two billion tonnes of waste, some of it extremely hazardous, are produced in the Member States, and whereas that figure is rising steadily;

B.  whereas stockpiling waste is not a viable solution and destroying it is unsatisfactory owing to the emissions given off and the highly concentrated and polluting residues produced;

C. whereas waste management refers to all the policies used to manage the entire waste process from the moment the waste is produced until the end of that process and covers the collection, transport, treatment (recycling or disposal) or reuse of the waste materials produced by human activity;

1.  Calls on the Commission to foster an EU-wide reduction in product packaging volumes by offering manufacturers incentives to use less packaging;

2.  Calls on the Commission to conduct EU-wide campaigns to promote the sale of drinks on draught;

3.  Calls on the Commission to establish a system for the collection of empties that focuses on the most common types of glass and plastic bottle and is based on the payment of a deposit on purchase and its return when the empty bottle is brought back.