Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste provides that, not later than July 2003, member states must prepare a national strategy for the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills. Progressive targets are set in the directive so that biodegradable municipal waste quantities consigned to landfill must be reduced to 35% of the total amount, by weight, of this waste produced in 1995 by 2016.
These targets were anticipated in the 1998 policy statement, Changing our Ways, which provided, inter alia, for a minimum 65% reduction over 15 years in biodegradable wastes consigned to landfill and the development of composting and other feasible biological treatment facilities capable of treating up to 300,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste per annum. These targets have also informed the development by local authorities of local and regional waste management plans and pilot composting projects have already been put in place by a number of local authorities.
We will shortly publish a policy statement on waste prevention and recovery. This will address in detail a range of practical considerations relevant to the achievement of recycling policy objectives and targets and will outline a variety of measures to be undertaken in support of better national performance in this area.