UK gears up for European waste reduction week

The Week will run from November 17 to 25 2012. Designed to raise awareness of waste reduction strategies and policies of the European Union, an additional aim is to help encourage public authorities and businesses to introduce sustainable waste reduction schemes.

EWWR was launched in 2009 by the European Commissions Life+ Programme (see letsrecycle.com story). It was conceived as a means of emphasising the importance of waste reduction as part of the Waste Framework Directive which was published in 2008.

The waste reduction week was originally set to run for only three years as the funding ended in June 2012. However, owing to past success it is happening in 2012 under the patronage of European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik.
In 2011 the number of actions recorded by the organisers during the week rose from 4,300 in 2010 to 7,000. The number of countries taking part increased from 27 to 32 over the same period.

Themes

A number of regions and councils across the UK will be participating in the 2012 Week, which will see national efforts from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and local efforts from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Merseyside.

To take part in the Week, councils must focus on one or more of the following themes:

• Too much waste – actions that aim to raise awareness about the urgency of reducing the quantity of waste we produce;
• Better production – actions that raise awareness about the measures taken up by businesses and industry to reduce the amount of waste generated through their economic activity;
• Better consumption – actions that aim to make the consumer think carefully about his/her choices; and think about the environment each time a purchase is made;
• A longer life for products – actions that seek to remind the public that products can have a second life, by reusing them; and,
• Less waste thrown away – actions that demonstrate different solutions to avoid having to throw so much in the bin.

Actions could include: swap days for reusable items; communication campaigns; workshops; competitions; and education and engagement with residents.

Efforts

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign is dominating national efforts from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as they look to reduce the amount of food waste produced.

Meanwhile, councils and community groups in Oxfordshire will be taking part in the week. Cherwell district council has also shown its support for the event and will be running a reuse roadshow with a creative workshop in Bicester town centre. The road show will also feature a recycling trailer will be handing out information on waste reduction and recycling.

Up in Scotland, Edinburgh city councils waste services team will be visiting libraries across the city to promote the Love Food Hate Waste campaign and encourage residents to reduce the amount of waste that they create.

The Week will also see the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) participating for the first time this year.

The MRWA is calling for councils, businesses, community groups and schools to get involved with EWWR. Carl Beer, chief executive of MRWA, said: I would encourage everyone to take up this challenge, use their imaginations and come up with new ideas and put the activities forward for inclusion in the European Week of Waste Reduction and hopefully pick up an Award on a European level.