Public Responsibility and
Resource-Efficiency
27 September 2012
Economic and Social Committee
Vanya Veras
Secretary General
History – the Health Aspect
• The creation of settlements and increasing
urbanisation led to concentrations of waste
which nature could not process
• Unclean
• Spread of disease
• The public body was made responsible for
coordinating waste removal
Responsibility
• Implementation of legislation – national – EU
• Targets to achieve as a locality and nation
• Reporting
Service to All
• Charges to citizens – from the municipality on
equal and fair calculation basis
• Prices – maintained affordable
• Remote or difficult areas – obligation to
provide all waste services
Access to Citizens
• First point
municipality
of
call
for
information
is
the
• In every Member State, citizens receive
information on waste collections via their
municipality: website, post, local newspaper,
flyers, flyers in utility bills
Continuity
• People like to have a system they can
understand and become familiar with
• Change in waste collection methods are
difficult and costly to implement - retraining
Evolution
…Middle ages
1990s
Today…
Material Resources
• Organisation
of
bins
and
collection
system/frequency, bring sites, facility
• Communication
• Incentives – PAYT (Pay As You Throw),
reduced collection charges
• Sanctions
Energy Resources
• Waste-to-Energy (incineration or biogas)
• District heating
• Choice of power source
• Choice
of
most
economically
and
environmentally advantageous option can be
made at local and regional level
Freedom of Choice
• Many different models across Europe – public
always remains finally responsible:
• UK: Outsources collection and treatment
via public procurement
• France: Treatment via PPP/Concessiontype contracts and public
• Sweden: mainly public
Sustainable Economy and Environment
• Closing the materials and energy loop through ResourceEfficiency
• Not a public or private issue = a survival issue:
– New extraction, transport costs
– Recovery
of
materials
is
local,
environmentally and economically sound
affordable,
– Recovery
of
energy
is
local,
environmentally and economically sound
affordable,
Bridge
• Municipal Waste Europe members’ members
are in effect the bridge between the actors in
resource-efficiency and the public
Experience Shows
• Elefsina: door to door communication: in 3 years from
20% to 90% separate collection
• Pireaus: organisation of bins, collection vehicles, basic
information in media: in 3 months, from 10% recycling to
30% - in following 3 months, 50% increase in quality
• Lakonia: Direct citizen involvement with incentives –
bring site – 0 to 3000 households recycling in 7 months
(communication though local parliament, media)
Thank you for your attention
Contact Details:
Vanya Veras, Secretary General
Municipal Waste Europe,
Rue des Deux Eglises 26/5, B-1000 Brussels.
Tel: +32 2 299 2145,
Email: vanya.veras@municipalwasteeurope.eu
www.municipalwasteeurope.eu
Please take a flyer!