Page 533 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

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INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURING

APPLICATIONS

41.1 International Waste Management

Goals and Opportunities

Each year the European Union alone disposes of 1.3 billion tones of waste, some
40 million tones of it hazardous. This amounts to about 3.5 tones of solid waste for
every man, woman and child.
Recycling rates increased recently in the EU. The percentage of waste being dis-
posed of in landfills decreased as a corollary. However, landfill remains the prevailing
option in many EU countries. Indeed, treatment of municipal waste in the EU in 1999
was distributed as follows:

■ Landfills: 57 percent
■ Incineration: 16 percent
■ Recycling and composting: 20 percent
■ Others 7 percent

The EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) promotes a decrease in landfilling waste.
Biodegradable waste counts for approximately two-thirds of total municipal waste
quantities. By 2016, the EU Landfill Directive provides for a reduction of the quantity
of biodegradable material to be landfilled of 35 percent of the 1995 levels.
Only a few EU member states had reached this target in 2001 whereas in accession
countries the fraction of municipal waste going to landfill is generally more than 90 per-
cent and in many cases very close to 100 percent.
The municipal waste management market is primarily driven by legislation, and
here the impact of the EU Landfill Directive continues to be felt in most countries.
Restrictions on the use of landfill for the disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) are
encouraging the development of alternate technologies, with nonthermal treatment

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