Material, opportunity, profit – who would have thought, a few years ago, that these will become the terms we use to describe wastes. The route that European Union took to effective and responsible ways of handling waste was and will still be full of challenges. However, without a doubt, finish line is closer than it has ever been.

In the 70’s of the last century when the attention to environmental protection was becoming more and more important, people turned their heads towards waste disposal problem. It grew along with rapid industrial development, huge production and even bigger consumption.

The first challenge EU faced, was to reduce its massive flow and at the same time defend peoples health and lives. Member countries, had to manage waste within their own powers and territories to meet the universal regulations and standards stated by the Union. Those included ways of handling hazardous waste, batteries, used electronics, municipal wastes, packaging and even vehicles. Gradually, the requirements concerning recycling and managing wastes were rising. The outcome were, rise in recycling of packaging (from 67% in 2005 to 79% in 2013 according to Eurostat) and in recycling of municipal wastes (from 25% in 2000 to 43% in 2014 acc to Eurostat). Moreover, an important rule was introduced thanks to which the producers had to cover part of the cost for managing wastes that came from their goods.

As time passed, they started to pay more attention to what materials are used in production. Another important factor is the hierarchy of actions created in 2008. According to this regulations the main priority is to avoid the creation of waste. Then comes the issue of re- using such materials, recycling, processing, or getting rid of them completely.

EU waste policy, both economical and environmental, started to support one another to create its core. The biggest revolution was to change the perception about waste. Now they are considered more as a re- usable material, less of a problem. The awareness of this fact is still growing.

-    It’s been some time since we started noticing the change in perception both among companies and consumers. On one hand, we have got a higher public demand for proper waste disposal as it directly affects their local communities, on the other hand, companies find a lot of financial, logistical and environmental benefits from it. – says Piotr Bruździak, Sales and Marketing Director at Stena Recycling.

The next step EU takes en route to better waste management is to launch a closed circuit economy where no material is lost. The European Commission’s proposals from December 2015, stated that by 2030 we should reach the level of 75% in packaging recycling, 65% in communal, and drop general waste storage to 10%.