ENSURING RESPONSIBLE WASTE MANAGEMENT WITHIN A EUROPEAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Waste Trade
The European Union is shipping a large amount of its waste across borders, both within the EU and globally. This risks generating negative environmental, social, and economic impacts for recipient countries and local communities. We are working to ensure more stringent regulations and monitoring of waste shipments, especially for exports from the European Union.” – Theresa Morsen, Waste & Resources Policy Officer at Zero Waste Europe
For many years, waste has been shipped mainly from countries in the Global North to the Global South for treatment. This practice can have severe adverse consequences for people and the planet.
The recycling infrastructure in recipient countries is often overburdened by the volumes of waste exported from the Global North. Exporting Europe’s waste challenges to other countries is in grave misalignment with the ambition to build a circular economy in Europe and contradicts the principle of proximity enshrined in EU law. Therefore, we are calling for strict regulation and enforcement of rules for waste exports from Europe.
This approach must be complemented by strict rules for shipments within the European Union, where illegal waste trade and dumping are still commonplace.
Zero Waste Europe’s work highlights the injustices of the waste trade while promoting real solutions to waste prevention and management at all levels.
