Waste generation in Europe is on the rise. On average, every European citizen produces nearly half a tonne of municipal waste and the annual waste generation in the EU amounts to 2.5 billion tonnes. To reverse this trend, the EU supports a defined waste hierarchy featuring waste prevention as the number one priority and clearly the most efficient way to save resources and lower the environmental impact of waste.
Local and regional authorities have an opportunity to lead the way in waste prevention and use their considerable purchasing power in various sectors (construction, transport) to change linear consumption and production patterns.
There are several ways to support waste prevention, including:
Establishing prevention policies and targets
Adopting green public procurement practices and tools
Encouraging active citizen participation
Developing awareness-raising campaigns and providing information through various outlets
The present policy brief provides an overview of EU initiatives to inspire local and regional authorities and showcase ways to support waste prevention. These include actions on food waste prevention and examples of green public procurement and training.
In January 2019, the Irish Government decided that government departments and public bodies would lead in reducing generation of single use plastics and waste.
Measures to promote the greening of public procurement
Guides are part of a process of greening public procurement to implement effectively the inclusion of environmental criteria and clauses in the hiring processes
Green Guide on environmental criteria for regional public procurement related to the building sector
Green Guide on public procurement environmental measures in the building sector of the Regional Government of Valencia to boost innovation and circular economy
