A new report released by Friends of the Earth Europe (FEE) today (14 February) reveals that Europe ‘unnecessarily’ landfills of incinerates 60 per cent of its municipal waste.

The ‘Less is More: Resource efficiency through waste collection, recycling and reuse’ study focuses on waste practices in Europe, most particularly on three widely-used commodities used across Europe: aluminium, cotton and lithium.

It claims that the ways in which these materials are consumed (through extraction, manufacture, use and disposal) ‘not only have major social, economic and environmental impacts, but also represent a missed opportunity for job creation and global resource security’.

The study identifies the reuse of textiles as being particularly poor: of the 5.8 million tonnes that are discarded across Europe every year, 75 per cent is either sent to landfill or incinerated, with just 25 per cent recycled.

Indeed, it goes on to identify that in the UK 31 per cent (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing is landfilled in the UK every year, with just 14 per cent recycled.

‘Unnecessary landfill and incineration of clothing and other textiles must be minimised, so legally binding national regulations for high collection rates and investment in recycling infrastructure need to be implemented.

‘The creation of jobs in the recycling and reuse of textiles in Europe would benefit the environment and provide much-needed employment’, the report states.

FEE is also calling on the EU to implement incentives for the reuse of clothing in order to create a ‘vibrant EU-wide reuse market’.

The group also argues that recycling rates of aluminium (currently at 50 per cent) could be pushed further through higher targets (curbing demand for bauxite) and that by improving the design of electric and electronic goods, recycling levels of lithium could be raised to ‘more sustainable’ rates.

Economic approach ‘no substitute for real regulations’

Despite commitments as part of the European Union’s (EU) Europe 2020 strategy to create a ‘Resource Efficient Europe’, the report goes on to argue that these pledges come into conflict with the EU’s desire to base economic growth on meeting high consumer demand.

This conflict, argues FEE, leads to increased pollution, as there is little desire on the political level to enact meaningful changes. Poor waste management also means that valuable resources are thrown away, the group adds, leading to increased demand for raw materials.

’As the largest net importer of natural resources per capita, Europe requires integrated solutions to reduce consumption. Sustainable resource efficiency measures are necessary to ensure that European countries avoid being trapped using technologies, processes and structures that increase dependency on raw materials, including metals extracted through destructive mining practices, crops requiring high pesticide inputs, and land and water grabbing.

‘This economic approach is no substitute for real regulations shaping and guiding the use and disposal of resources, and resource-friendly manufacturing processes’, the report states.

‘Urgent need for fundamental changes’

FEE argues that tighter regulations on waste and higher targets on reuse and recycling are now needed in order to move towards a zero waste Europe.

Speaking of the release of the report, resource use campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, Ariadna Rodrigo, said: “Europe is still stuck in a system where valuable materials, many of which come at a high environmental and social cost, end up in landfill or incineration. Recycling targets are a good start, but reusing products and materials and preventing waste in the first place won’t be the norm until we have EU targets for these too.

“There is an urgent need to fundamentally change EU policies and end our current wastefulness. Reducing waste is an easy way to increase Europe’s resource efficiency. It not only contributes to cutting carbon emissions, it also creates jobs in Europe and reduces dependency on imported raw materials”, she concluded.

Read the ‘Less is More: Resource efficiency through waste collection, recycling and reuse’ report.