European Decentralised Observatory for municipal waste recycling performances
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Future Events:
- 2nd Workshop for the Observatory, Odense Denmark, 26-27 April 2012.
(Information to follow)
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Past Events:
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Nowadays, there is a growing interest across Europe to better understand the data management of municipal waste that does not only prove valuable for internal monitoring purposes, and to measure performance, but also acts as a benchmark allowing comparison of regions and cities of similar typologies but in different Member States.
Despite the availability of waste data that is regularly published at an international level, particularly by the European Environment Agency, Eurostat or OECD and other relevant environmental agencies, there are significant limitations identified on this type of data presentation; the heterogeneity of raw waste data, the variability in terminology to define municipal waste; the lack of detailed municipal waste data on a regional and local level; the variability depending on the data source; the lack of information provided at an operational level, and lastly, the lack of financial control.
As a result, ACR+, which for 15 years has acted as a platform for exchange between local and regional authorities in Europe to improve policies for municipal waste management, has agreed to develop a permanent Observatory of municipal waste performances in Europe. The Observatory will initially focus on the analysis of recycling performances across Europe and will be developed by ACR+ members in partnership with key waste management expert organisations.
The Observatory will also act as a platform for sharing experiences and demonstrating best
practice amongst different cities in order to: Achieve higher recycling rates, improve communication with citizens and reduce the negative environmental (including climate change) and financial impacts.
It is of great interest and importance to all European regional and local authorities to create an Observatory for municipal waste management due to the target obligation to reach 50% household recycling rate by 2020, based on the EU Waste Framework Directive 98/2008.
ACR+ is now calling all European cities and regions who are ACR+ members to become part of the Observatory.
The establishment of the working groups and the involvement of European waste and statistics experts will form the basis of this technical, innovative and yet transparent platform.
If you wish to become a participant of the Observatory, please contact the ACR+.
ACR+ would like to hear from you if your local authority is:
- interested in taking part in the Observatory
- interested in joining a particular working group
- able to provide a main point of contact
If you are an ACR+ member and would like to read more about the Observatory, please follow the link to the Observatory Strategic Orientation file.
To view the Waste Data Matrix Tool, click here.
For information about the Observatory and the methodology applied, please contact Hara Xirou at hx@acrplus.org