Waste Prevention: from Concept to Practice

According to the revised European Union (EU) Directive on Waste (2008/98/EC), widely known as Waste Framework Directive (WFD), waste prevention embraces all the measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce the quantity of waste, the adverse impacts of the generated waste on environmental and human health, and the content of harmful substances in materials and products. These measurements should be taken before a product, a material or a substance become waste. Waste prevention is distinct from recycling and other waste management efforts which are applied only when products and materials are inevitable or voluntarily discarded. In order to counteract the growing waste generation, policies providing robust guidelines on waste prevention and suitable regulating framework are deemed a necessity. Waste prevention is at the top of the European Union waste hierarchy (Article 3, Waste Framework Directive) and is increasingly considered as the key component of contemporary waste management. In many parts of the world it is the top issue in the waste policy agenda, while in the European Union, which might have the most elaborated legal framework for waste management worldwide, it is now a legal obligation for member states to adopt National Waste Management Plans by the end of 2013. Moreover, the need for sustainability and the limited availability of resources in a world of increasing population and growth are shifting the focus from waste management to resources management, drastically changing not only the waste sector, but also the way we produce and consume. This paper will address these developments, clarifying definitions and presenting the best practice cases. The conclusions could be useful for the development of future waste prevention plans in the context either of waste or resource management.