Brussels - The impact of waste on the environment can be addressed by both improving treatment facilities and reducing the amount of waste that is produced. Though legislation and innovative new processes have led to improvements in the way that waste is treated, its impact remains significant. For this reason, an EU-funded LIFE project approached the problem from another perspective, by focusing on waste flow. The IDEAL79 project, which was carried out in the French region of Deux Sèvres by local waste office and socio-economic stakeholders, aimed to reduce waste at source by setting incentives at different stages of public consumption.

At the end of the project, the production of residual waste had decreased from 314 kg per year per inhabitant in 2005 to 283 kg per year per inhabitant in 2008 - a decrease of 9.9 per cent in three years. Such an outcome represents significant cost savings: a decrease of around 11,000 tonnes corresponds to a saving of around €1m (€98 per treated tonne). Awareness of the need to reduce waste was raised through an extensive information campaign and a training programme targeted at policymakers, associations, schools and colleges, businesses and the local population.

The IDEAL 79 project also distributed an eco-consumer's guide to 160,000 homes in the area, including 69 price reduction vouchers for 119 products and services that were defined as contributing to the prevention of quantity and toxicity of waste (eco-products and eco-services) as well as an IDEAL shopping list of products that reduce quantity and toxicity of consumer waste. Thirty-two stores committed themselves to placing the eco-products on their shelves in a prominent position.

This initiative increased the sales of eco-products by 19 per cent on average in the large supermarkets. In addition, nine families participated in the eco-citizen family aspect of the project in which they agreed to serve as good examples to the community by buying eco-products and services that reduce the size of their waste bin. After 12 months, eco-citizen families had recorded on average a reduction of 34 per cent in their residual household waste production.

Finally, the project highlighted alternative means of consumption, manufacturing etc. that generate less waste. Around 160,000 guides, entitled 'Guides to repair and re-use, or the nine lives of your purchases', which list second-hand and repaired products as well as 500 companies specialising in repair, re-use and rental, were distributed.

Also, around 3450 compost facilities were given to households to promote composting, and a Corporate Commitment Charter, was signed by a wide range of stakeholders committed to supporting the prevention of waste. IDEAL 79 has great potential for adoption in other areas and was asked to present its waste reduction programme at several conferences. Measures for the management and reduction of waste were introduced in Biala-Podlaska, Poland.

More information on IDEAL 79 can be found under ec.europa.eu.

LIFE is the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU, as well as in some candidate, acceding and neighbouring countries. Since 1992, LIFE has co-financed some 3104 projects, contributing approximately €2.2 billion to the protection of the environment.

Quelle: EU commission / LIFE

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