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The priority now is to decrease the amount of waste we gener-
ate. That means changing our consumption patterns, for exam-
ple by choosing products that use recyclable material, market
fresh produce instead of canned food, less packaging and eas-
ily recyclable containers (for example glass instead of plastic). It
also means recycling – sorting, collecting, processing and reus-
ing materials that would otherwise be handled as wastes.
Many organizations are now engaged in education campaigns,
and they seem to be working – in the last two decades, the
amount of material being recycled in rich countries has grown
dramatically. Most of it is paper, followed by glass, metals, alu-
minium, plastic, and organic waste.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
United States
Japan
Finland
Germany
1980
2000
1985 1990 1995
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
1980
2000
1985 1990 1995
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
1980
2000
1985 1990 1995
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
1980
2000
1985 1990 1995
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
Source: OECD, 2002.
% of apparent
consumption
The economy of recycling
Recycling activities are
economically
important.
Collection, sorting and re-
processing represent job
opportunities (especially in
the paper recycling sector).
They also lower energy and
municipal waste disposal
costs. Recycling and repro-
cessing are growth indus-
tries, which also support
some downstream sectors
like the steel industry.
It is difficult to quantify, be-
cause of a lack of data, but
the informal recycling sector
in developing countries is
known to be economically
important.
Quantities generated
Recycled
Packaging production and recycling
Kg per person
selected European countries
50
250
200
100
150
0
Ireland
France
Italy
Netherlands
Germany
Luxemburg
Denmark
United
Kingdom
Spain
Belgium
Austria
Portugal
Sweden
Greece
Finland
European
Union (15)
Source: EEA, 2001.