He predicted significant growth in employment in new recycling and waste processing industries.
Mr Busquin pointed out that Europe produces between 1 and 2 billion tonnes of waste each year, of which at least 30 million tonnes can be described as 'hazardous'.
He said: “A few weeks away from the Johannesburg summit on sustainable development, the key question remains how to foster economic growth while preserving the environment. Clean technologies provide innovative answers.”
In the EU alone, industries which provide these technologies, or are involved in other recycling and waste processing, have a turnover of E180 billion (120 billion), and enjoy 10% growth per annum, generating 500,000 jobs.
The European Commission has supported some 1,000 projects, and will devote E3.42 billion (2.28 billion) to this over the next four years.
Mr Busquin said that clean technologies allow a change to modes of production and product design to minimize resource consumption, and to move towards zero waste and 100% of recycling at the end of product lifetimes.
Work would also be needed to tackle the reluctance of some industries to use recycled products, and to stimulate a sense of responsibility over resource consumption among the public, he said.
Mr Busquin predicted that it would soon be possible to promote new European technologies for processing waste metals, paper, textiles and chemicals on a world level.
This “shows the dynamism of a new European industry,” he said.
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