07/10/2005 - Specific targets
rather than general objectives are needed
if policies concerning packaging waste are
to succeed, a report released today by the
European Environment Agency in Copenhagen
states.
The 'Effectiveness of Waste Packaging Policies
in Selected Countries' report analyses the
performance of Austria, Denmark, Ireland,
Italy and UK in terms of their compliance
with the EU directive on packaging waste.
The report evaluates each country's performance
in relation to the Packaging and Packaging
Waste Directive, the key policy initiative
in this area.
The results show that the Directive has most
impact where hard targets have been set. EU
targets led to a marked increase in the recycling
of packaging waste across all the countries
studied.
However, overall volumes of packaging waste
actually increased in the countries by 7%
between 1997 and 2001. In Ireland, packaging
waste increased by 36%. The report suggests
that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive
fails in its main objective because hard targets
have not been set for the volumes of waste
packaging created.
"Despite considerable success with recycling,
policy in this area has some way to go. We
need to step up the focus on waste generation.
Targets would make policymakers and the public
more aware that the ultimate goal is to avoid
waste in the first place," says Professor
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
the EEA.
For recycling packaging waste, Austria comes
out top in the league tables going beyond
the Directive's targets. Similarly, Denmark
and the UK have met their obligations. Ireland,
the highest producer of packaging waste per
person in the EU (214kg per person annually
compared with 122kg in Austria), has nevertheless
met its targets for recycling packaging waste.
Notes for Editors:
Policy Effectiveness Evaluations
Policy effectiveness evaluation raises questions
about environmental policies: Are policies
working? Are they worth the money invested
in them, and if not how can they be improved?
The EEA has identified policy effectiveness
evaluation as a priority area, aiming to measure
and to demonstrate the results of policies
in order to justify them against broader policy
objectives, and thus to support informed decision
making. With the aim of gaining practical
experience in doing policy effectiveness evaluations
and to provide support in selected policy
areas, the EEA has carried out pilot studies
on the effectiveness of packaging waste management
systems, and on wastewater policies.
About the EEA
The European Environment Agency is the leading
public body in Europe dedicated to providing
sound, independent information on the environment
to policy-makers and the public. The EEA has
been operational in Copenhagen since 1994.
