An Overview of Approaches towards Sustainable Waste Management in Baltic Sea  Region Countries

Harri Moora,Jolita Kruopiene,Walter Leal Filho,Asa Stenmarck

doi:10.19026/rjees.6.5752

Abstract

Municipal waste management is a matter of great relevance and concern to countries in the Baltic Sea region. At present, the region possesses great disparities regarding the ways it handles and processes waste, meaning there are some countries which recover most of the waste they produce, whilst a number of other nations are lagging behind. Such disparity needs to be addressed in order to accommodate a more sustainable solution to waste management issues. This study discusses the extent to which countries in the Baltic Sea Region handle municipal waste management issues and outlines some of the work undertaken as part of the project RECO Baltic 21 Tech, partly funded by the Interreg VB (Baltic Sea) Programme. The study outlines the current state of affairs within the field of waste management in the Baltic region and, by means of some examples of good practice, documents a selection of the ongoing initiatives in this field before finally outlining the results of the project. Furthermore, it also describes some of the actions needed in order to foster more sustainable waste management practices in Baltic Sea region countries.

Highlights

Treatment of waste and especially its disposal, has the potential to impact upon health and the environment, including emissions to air, surface water and groundwater, depending on how it is managed
Municipal waste management is a matter of great relevance and concern to countries in the Baltic Sea region
Baltic Sea Region Waste Management Strategy -aiming to influence the decisionmakers on an EU, national and local level

Summary

Introduction

Treatment of waste and especially its disposal, has the potential to impact upon health and the environment, including emissions to air, surface water and groundwater, depending on how it is managed. Research into waste management has witnessed much progress recently, in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). Life Cycle Assessment has been used to support decision making in old EU member states of the Baltic Sea region for over a decade. It is being gradually introduced into the decision-making processes in new member states as well (Bernstad et al, 2011; Birgisdóttir et al, 2007; Björklund and Finnveden, 2007; Manfredi et al, 2009; Moora et al, 2006; Miliūtė and Staniškis, 2010; Damgaard, 2010)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion