Natural Resources & Waste
Our Work
Latest in Natural Resources & Waste
-
Tackling marine litter with the circular economy and the EU Plastics Strategy
IEEP identifies how the EU Plastics Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan provide a unique opportunity to address marine litter and its impacts.
-
The cascading use of woody biomass in the EU – challenges, opportunities and policy solutions
Improving the resource efficient use of wood through cascading the resource from one use to another, requires action throughout the wood flow. Current efforts focus on recovering and re-using waste wood but more could be done with the production and utilisation of wood processing residues and improving the balancing between the material and energy use of wood.
-
Mapping study on the cascading use of wood products
Promoting the cascading use of wood through policy is one approach to improve resource efficiency and increase the overall availability of wood for use in a variety of sectors.
-
New open access book on marine litter
A new book, 'Marine Anthropogenic Litter', has been published comprising 16 chapters on various aspects of the complex issue of litter in the world’s oceans. Researchers from IEEP contributed a chapter on the economics of marine litter. The whole book is free to view online.
-
The Manual: Chapter 7 - Resource use
This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter illustrates the variety of EU laws, policies and guidance documents that have been adopted to improve the efficiency of our use of natural resources and to reduce environmental impacts throughout a product's life cycle.
-
Priorities and policy options to support the circular economy
New report by PSI, IEEP, BIO and Ecologic provides an initial scoping assessment of priorities and policy options to support the transition to a circular economy in the EU.
-
Does the EU benefit the UK environment?
This report considers how environmental policy in the EU effects the UK and looks at some alternatives. Overall the impact within the environmental domain can be judged to be strongly positive to the UK. The action taken has been well balanced, with benefits for human health and welfare and the sustainability of the economy as well as the environment itself.
-
EU waste law: the challenge of better compliance
Waste management in the EU is improving, but implementation by the Member States of EU waste legislation remains patchy. This paper makes suggestions on how better compliance could be achieved.
-
Economic instruments to improve waste management
This report investigates a range of economic instruments in place in the EU Member States to improve waste management. It focuses on disposal taxes, pay-as-you-throw systems and producer responsibility schemes, and attempts to assess their contribution to waste management performance.
-
Review of the Waste Thematic Strategy
This report supported the European Commission’s review of the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste. It summarises available data on waste management in the EU, assesses progress towards the EU becoming a ‘recycling society’, outlines the achievements of the Waste Thematic Strategy, and makes recommendations for the development of future EU waste policies.
Highlights
-
The cascading use of woody biomass in the EU – challenges, opportunities and policy solutions
Improving the resource efficient use of wood through cascading the resource from one use to another, requires action throughout the wood flow. Current efforts focus on recovering and re-using waste wood but more could be done with the production and utilisation of wood processing residues and improving the balancing between the material and energy use of wood.
-
Does the EU benefit the UK environment?
This report considers how environmental policy in the EU effects the UK and looks at some alternatives. Overall the impact within the environmental domain can be judged to be strongly positive to the UK. The action taken has been well balanced, with benefits for human health and welfare and the sustainability of the economy as well as the environment itself.