EU Waste Week, more than 5,000 initiatives for reduction
14 November 2011
BRUSSELS - The countdown to the third 'European Week for Waste Reduction', held form November 19 to 27, has started.
The goal: reducing the amount of waste that is produced every year in the EU, around half a tonne per person on average. More than five thousand eco-initiatives have already been registered for the 2011 edition, but this number continues to rise.
A variety of activities are organised: explaining to school children what composting is and asking them to try it at home, or informing clients in a supermarket how to shop more 'intelligently'. The 2010 campaign involved 24 countries and Italy will participate this year as well (www.menorifiuti.org), together with many others. Participants outside EU borders are the Dominican Republic and the Brazilian Minas Geiras region, and single initiatives have come in from Turkey to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A new element in this year's event is the introduction of 'joint action', which will be realised across Europe using the same methods in several sectors, like the reduction of paper, food and packaging waste but also recycling, reuse and cleanups.
Reducing the production of waste has become a real priority for the European Union, considering the fact that the amount of waste produced per household more than doubled over a 40-year period, and continues to increase by 2% per year. In 2007, each EU citizen threw away more than half a tonne of waste (522 kg), a clear sign of unsustainable production and consumption models. Moreover, the consumption of products (their production, transport and distribution) represent almost 50% of emissions that contribute to climate change.
Source: ANSAmed.
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