Conference breaks a lance for European biological waste directive
The European Union should regulate the processing of biological waste better. After all, too much biological waste is still being dumped in Europe, while there are much better and more sustainable alternatives. This was the conclusion of the participants of the conference on biological waste on 21 September in Brussels.
Biological waste consists of vegetable and fruit waste or garden waste. There are many sustainable ways of processing biological waste. For instance, we can turn vegetable, fruit and garden waste into compost.
Still, biological waste is being dumped in various places in Europe. This forms the greenhouse gas methane, which contributes to climate change.
This is why the conference’s participants proposed to tackle biological waste on a European level. This could result in a European directive that stipulates how the member states can process their biological waste sustainably.
Advantages
The sustainable management of biological waste could offer Europe plenty of advantages:
- Keeping biological waste away from rubbish tips, because of which we will achieve the objectives of the landfill directive more easily.
- By closing the cycle of biological waste, we can offer a major contribution to the European objective of converting the EU into a society of recycling.
- The use of high quality compost protects the soil quality, promotes the quality of agriculture and ensures the storage of carbon in the soil (carbon sequestration).
- By combining composting with fermentation, we can generate reusable energy and contribute to the climate goal.
