Nov. 26, 2007
European environment ministers voted on June 28 to establish a five-step waste hierarchy that prioritises prevention, reuse and recycling over recovery and landfill. The council's decision, however, was widely condemned by green groups for the former's decision to reclassify municipal waste incineration as 'recovery' rather than 'disposal'. The primary challenge to the decision is that incineration has been moved further up the waste hierarchy in order to be given a 'cleaner' image.
Critics also denounced the council's failure to attempt to reach an agreement on the European Parliament's 'first reading' recycling and prevention targets, and argued that this shortcoming could actually promote further waste incineration.
"The Environment Council has postponed discussion of the vital recycling and prevention targets — supported by Parliament in February — and has instead focused on fiddling with the bottom of the waste hierarchy, said Michael Warhust from Friends of the Earth Europe.
