thumb|477x477px|The waste management hierarchy starts from prevention and reduction actions.

thumb|300px|Enhanced version of waste hierarchy

thumb|The three chasing arrows of the international [[recycling symbol. It is sometimes accompanied by the text "reduce, reuse and recycle".]]

The waste management hierarchy, waste hierarchy, or "hierarchy of waste management options", is a tool used in the evaluation of processes that protect the environment alongside resource and energy consumption from most favourable to least favourable actions. The hierarchy establishes preferred program priorities based on sustainability.

The hierarchy indicates an order of preference for action to reduce and manage waste, and is usually presented diagrammatically in the form of a pyramid. The hierarchy captures the progression of a material or product through successive stages of waste management, and represents the latter part of the life-cycle for each product.

Life-cycle thinking

All products and services have environmental impacts, from the extraction of raw materials for production to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. Following the waste hierarchy will generally lead to the most resource-efficient and environmentally sound choice but in some cases refining decisions within the hierarchy or departing from it can lead to better environmental outcomes.

Life cycle thinking and assessment can be used to support decision-making in the area of waste management and to identify the best environmental options. It can help policy makers understand the benefits and trade-offs they have to face when making decisions on waste management strategies. Life-cycle assessment provides an approach to ensure that the best outcome for the environment can be identified and put in place.

;Prevention: preventing and reducing waste generation.

;Reuse and preparation for reuse: giving the products a second life before they become waste. This might involve reusing the product as-is, or reuse with modification, such as repurposing, refurbishing and remanufacture.

;Recycle: any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes composting and it does not include incineration.

;Recovery: some waste incineration that upgrades the less inefficient incinerators.

;Disposal: processes to dispose of waste be it landfilling, incineration, pyrolysis, gasification and other finalist solutions.

According to the Waste Framework Directive the European Waste Hierarchy is legally binding except in cases that may require specific waste streams to depart from the hierarchy. This should be justified on the basis of life-cycle thinking.

History

The waste hierarchy is a concept of environmental literature and some EU member-states environmental legislation but before the [waste framework directive] of 2008 was not part of the European legislation. The waste framework directive of 1975 had no reference to a waste hierarchy.

In 1975, The European Union's Waste Framework Directive (1975/442/EEC) introduced for the first time the elements of the waste hierarchy concept into European waste policy. It emphasized the importance of waste minimization, and the protection of the environment and human health, as a priority. Following the 1975 Directive, European Union policy and legislation adapted to the principles of the waste hierarchy.

Fundamental to the waste hierarchy concept is "Lansink's Ladder", named after the Member of the Dutch Parliament, Ad Lansink, who proposed it in 1979 to be incorporated into Dutch policy in 1993.

In 1989, it was formalized into a hierarchy of management options in the European Commission's Community Strategy for Waste Management and this waste strategy was further endorsed in the Commission's review in 1996.

In the first legislative proposals of 2006 the European Commission suggested a 3-step hierarchy composed of 1- Prevention and Reuse, 2- Recycling and Recovery (with incineration) and 3- Disposal. This was heavily criticised because it was putting recycling at the same level of incineration which was coherent with the traditional pro-incineration position from the European Commission. The pressure from NGOs and member states managed to turn the initial non-binding 3-step hierarchy into a quasi-binding 5-step hierarchy.

Challenges for local and regional authorities

The task of implementing the waste hierarchy in waste management practices within a country may be delegated to the different levels of government (national, regional, local) and to other possible factors including industry, private companies and households. Local and regional authorities can be particularly challenged by the following issues when applying the waste hierarchy approach.

Source reduction is typically measured by efficiencies and cutbacks in waste. Toxics use reduction is a more controversial approach to source reduction that targets and measures reductions in the upstream use of toxic materials. Toxic use reduction emphasizes the more preventive aspects of source reduction but, due to its emphasis on toxic chemical inputs, has been opposed more vigorously by chemical manufacturers. Toxic use reduction programs have been set up by legislation in some states, e.g., Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon.

See also

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References

  • Waste unit in DG Environment
  • Directive 2008/98/EC on waste (Waste Framework Directive)
  • Directorate General for the Environment
  • Letsrecycle, Letsrecycle.com article on European Debate on Waste Hierarchy
  • Getting to Zero Waste