Solutions
Climate and waste
Changes in material consumption patterns and proper waste management not only save money; they also have significant implications for improving environmental performance and reducing climate change.
What a waste!
Imagine returning from the supermarket and throwing a third of your shopping straight into the bin. That is roughly the proportion of food produced globally that is lost or wasted every year.
The European Commission is working to help spread the word about shopping wisely, the meaning of dates on food labels, and using leftovers. EU guidelines were adopted in October 2017 to make it easier – where safe to do so – for surplus food to be donated to food banks or used for animal feed.
Let’s all work together to reduce the estimated 90 million tonnes of food currently wasted each year in the EU!
Be wise about waste
The next time you put something in the bin, think about it. On average, each of the 500 million people living in the EU throws away around half a tonne of household rubbish each year!
Even though the amount of waste being recycled is rising, a lot still ends up in landfill sites. As waste rots, it releases huge amounts of methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – into the air, contributing to climate change.
Today, better waste management means more energy is being recovered, and EU legislation on landfilling is making a big difference.
Preventing waste is becoming more important as the global population increases and we are eating away at our finite supply of natural resources.
Think twice before upgrading gadgets
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing category of waste in the EU. WEEE is full of plastics and metals, including harmful ones like mercury and valuable ones like gold used in circuit boards.
The EU has set targets for recycling electronics to save resources and restrict the hazardous materials manufacturers can put into electronics, protecting recyclers and the environment.
