Irish Regions Office Website

December 07, 2008

Bio-waste management

A Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the EU was presented by the European Commission on 3 December. Bio-waste involves biodegradable garden, kitchen and food waste, typically accounts for around one third of municipal waste and has major potential impacts on the environment due to its methane content.
While waste management in the EU is governed by a substantial body of regulation, it is felt that there may be room for further improvement in this particular area - particularly given bio-waste’s potential advantages as a source of renewable energy and recycled materials. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas commented that ''we need to work with stakeholders to ensure that the waste management options we choose bring the greatest benefits to our environment.''

The discussion paper explores the socio-economic and environmental benefits and drawbacks of current practices as well as the impact of existing regulatory measures and is intended to stimulate a debate among stakeholders to contribute towards an assessment of the degree of need for additional EU action to direct more bio-waste towards recycling and energy recovery.

The Public Consultation will remain open until 15 March.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/compost/index.htm

Posted by iroronan at December 7, 2008 03:11 PM