Waste management in the European Union

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been significant concern about the impact of waste on the environment, and accordingly, the former European Communities and the European Union have adopted a number of environmental legislation. Inadequate waste management has led to numerous cases of pollution of land and groundwater, which jeopardized the natural functioning of the ecosystem and the health of the population exposed to pollution. The EU Sustainable Development Strategy identifies the prevention of waste generation and proper management of it as one of its main priorities. The need for waste management is clearly emphasized, in order tominimize the risk of endangering the lives and health of people and the environment. The aim of this paper is to present the most important EU legislationon waste management, as well as to analyse relevant case law of Court of Justice of European Union.

Keywords

• European Union
• waste
• waste management
• EU legislation
• case law of Court of Justice of European Union