The trash piles up

With Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands insisting on high recycling targets, an agreement on waste packaging among European Community members seems a distant dream. SMOTHERED by a growing garbage disposal problem, the take-away, throw-away European Community (EC) is trying to reach a consensus on waste packaging regulations.

However, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands consider the recovery and recycling targets set by the EC regressive and refuse to accept them. EC officials warn- the "green" trio risks having its ambitious goals voted down by its partners. As an alternative, the three nations are being offered the opportunity to stick to their goals provided other nations are not affected.

EC proposal At a recent meeting, the nine other EC nations proposed easier targets: Recovery of 60 per cent of waste and recycling of 40 per cent in the next five years and recovery of 90 per cent and recycling of 60 per cent next ten years.

These nations take as their yardstick what they see as Germany's fail ure to meet the ambitious recycling targets it set for itself, because of which German waste has found its way into the fledgling European recycling industry and stifled it. Eight nations complain their efforts to build up recycling industries are being overwhelmed by the cheap waste dumped on them by Germany. France has threatened a waste import ban. a possibility also being considered by the UK.

More t an 100 million EC households generate an estimated 50 million tonnes of packaging waste each year. Industrial and commercial enterprises produce an equivalent amount. Of this, only an estimated 18 per cent is recycled-the figure varies depending on the country.

To counter the problem, Denmark introduced a system in the mid-1980s under which all beer and soft drink containers had to be returnable and marketed only in approved reusable containers. In Belgium, the government and 17 associations representing producers, users and distributors of packaging material and those recycling waste signed an agreement for the industries concerned to develop and finance and action programme to reduce, collect and recycle waste.

In the Netherlands a discussion between the government and industry representatives resulted in the Packaging Covenant of June 1991. This covered the entire scope of packaging and packaging waste. The Dutch agreed then that by 2000 they would decrease packaging waste by one-tenth of the 1986 level of about 2 million tonnes. Moreover, under the covenant, the parties must raise the recycled component of waste from 25 per cent to at least 60 per cent by 2000. The Dutch also intend to ban landfills of waste by then.

The German government came up with the now-famous "green dot" system, which obliges manufacturer and distributors to take back packaging material for reuse or recycling independent of the public waste disposal system. Manufacturers of goods entered into an agreement with Duales System Deutschland -a joint enterprise of the trade and industry-to collect and dispose packaging waste marked with green dots. By 1995, 80 per cent of all sales packaging in Germany will have to be collected and appropriately disposed.

Swamped by waste
However, this ambitious programme had to be rescued by industries and local councils after a deluge of waste swamped it (Down To Earth. October 31. 1993). The problem is especially acute for plastics. The projected collection of plastic waste in 1993 is 400.000 tonnes -four times more than expected. The excess volume of waste has lowered its prices and strained the inadequate capacity to recycle waste into anything people might use, let alone buy.

Germany, nevertheless, refuses to agree to relaxed targets and consensus on the issue seems elusive, with meeting after meeting ending in disagreement.