The EC has published a new strategy on the prevention & recycling of waste under the EU's 6th Environment Action Programme. This long-term strategy aims to help Europe become a recycling society that seeks to avoid waste &, instead, uses it as a resource. The Commission proposes revising the 1975 Waste Framework Directive to set new recycling standards & to include an obligation for EU states to develop national waste prevention programmes. Main elements of the proposed revision of the Directive include: focusing waste policy on improving the way we use resources; mandatory national waste prevention programmes throughout Europe; setting environmental standards that specify under which conditions some recycled wastes are no longer considered waste; simplifying waste legislation by clarifying definitions, & streamlining/integrating directives on hazardous waste.
