Why less is more in Europe - new report14 February 2013
Europe is needlessly wasting valuable resources - reveals a new report by Friends of the Earth Europe.
Did you know:
- It's 90% cheaper to recycle aluminium than to extract more?
- Manufacturers worry lithium will start running out by 2020?
- An average cotton t-shirt uses 2,700 litres of water to produce?
Yet Europe throws away and incinerates vast quantities of these valuable materials each year.
Europeans discard 5.8 million tonnes of textiles every year and only recycle 25%. This increases demand for raw materials, causing environmental and social impacts.
Waste not
Europe is the world's largest net importer of natural resources. Poor waste management contributes to this unsustainable demand.
Reducing waste is an easy way to increase Europe's resource efficiency. It not only contributes to cutting carbon emissions, it also creates jobs in Europe and reduces dependency on imported raw materials.
Ariadna Rodrigo, resource use campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe
Six years ago the EU parliament voted for 50% recycling targets.
The EU needs to increase its recycling and introduce targets for reuse and waste prevention. This will reduce material extraction, create jobs and help Europe to become more prosperous and sustainable.
© Friends of the Earth
