ECA publishes report on increasing amount of hazardous waste in the EU

Article summary

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published a brief report highlighting that the amount of hazardous waste produced by the EU has been continually rising since 2004, despite action to reduce its generation. The review covers a number of existing and future challenges, including improving classification, increasing recycling and reducing illegal trafficking. The report’s author, Eva Lindström, stated that ‘The most preferable ways to handle hazardous waste are recycling and energy recovery. Disposal should only be used as a last resort. However, over 50 % of the EU’s hazardous waste is still simply disposed of. In this review, we show that preventing and treating hazardous waste remains challenging, but also presents opportunities.’