EU's Market for Waste Handling/Recycling Huge, Growing
About 1.3 billion tons of waste is generated annually in the European Union, and this amount is growing steadily thanks to strong environmental laws, Frost & Sullivan reported April 4. Managing hazardous and municipal wastes alone costs the EU an estimated $100 billion annually, bringing "huge" and increasing revenues to the waste management and recycling industry, the report predicts.
The tougher EU laws have been enacted so an uncompetitive recycling and waste handling industry won't harm the environment, Ajay Richard, a research associate at Frost & Sullivan's Environment Group, said in the news release. This trend began with the 1975 Waste Regulation Legislation and continues today, with the latest focus being waste prevention and minimization and using resources more efficiently, Richard said.
"With landfills being decommissioned slowly and /or being monitored carefully, and strict incineration legislation, the recycling industry is expected to grow steadily as the EU shifts towards being a recycling society," Richard said. "The percentage of municipal wastes being recycled needs to increase sharply to overcome the burden of excessive waste generation." An even stricter law is expected to take effect in 2008, the report says. For more information, contact Chiara Carella of Corporate Communications at [email protected] with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state and country.