Natural Resources & Waste

Our Work

Over the years IEEP has made significant contributions to the development and assessment of many aspects of EU waste legislation and policy. Since the first EU Waste Framework Directive was adopted in 1975, legislation has expanded dramatically to cover many specific waste streams and various areas of waste management, including landfill, hazardous waste, shipment of waste and waste statistics.

We have conducted a number of broad-scale reviews of legislation, including assessing the coherence of the EU recycling Directives and analysing the effectiveness of specific EU policies. We have also assessed measures taken by the Member States, such as economic instruments used in the waste management sector (e.g. disposal taxes and pay-as-you-throw systems) and extended producer responsibility schemes for specific waste streams (e.g. packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and end-of-life vehicles).

Regarding work in this area, please contact Emma Watkins.

More about our work in this area...

Latest in Waste Legislation & Policy

  • 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.

  • 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.