Friends of the Earth EuropeThe European Parliament wants to crack down on garbage. They want current waste numbers to hold steady after 2012 and begin declining after 2020.

The legislation the EU is considering would require all member countries to create national waste prevention programs and increase recycling efforts.

The framework they're creating would employ a "hierarchy" of waste preference. "First prevention, then re-use, recycling, other recovery operations and, as a last resort, safe and environmentally sound disposal."

Landfill regulations would also be tightened, including a directive that no recyclable waste will be allowed in landfills by 2020. And the practice of incineration has come under scrutiny.

The United States should keep an eye on the success of the EU's directive. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Americans generated approximately 245.7 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2005. While this is a decrease of 1.6 million tons from 2004, it is still a lot of garbage. This is your average garbage fare that goes from your curbside to landfills across the country. It doesn't include construction debris (another big contributor to landfills).

Policy to reduce waste generated by consumers will be helpful in reducing the need for new landfills, and reducing the amount of garbage that needs to be hauled (in diesel fed trucks) from place to place.

Via ENS