Community and School Education on the Subject of Waste Management: Experiences of Romania, The United Kingdom and Germany

Abstract

Waste management practices can help to conserve energy and resources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and safeguard human health. Community and school education should help to increase knowledge, awareness and understanding regarding these practices. In the current chapter, three different European countries will be examined regarding their community and school education regarding waste management: Germany, Romania and England. Germany has an advanced waste management system in which only a small fraction of inert waste is landfilled. However, the quantity of waste that is produced per person is very high. Romania joined the EU in 2007 and translated European environmental legislation into national law. The country has made immense progress regarding environmentally sound waste disposal and waste management options. However, the largest fraction of municipal waste is still landfilled. Whether and to what extent waste management is covered in schools depends primarily on the individual teacher’s motivation and interest regarding this topic. Community education often focuses on ‘basic’ waste management approaches such as the negative effects of fly-tipping and the correct use of recycling facilities. In England, which is part of the United Kingdom, a range of community and school education initiatives exist to support sustainable waste management. As a result of the Brexit—the United Kingdom leaving the European Community—fears have arisen that recycling and landfill reduction targets might be changed into more lenient targets in the future. This could also reduce the emphasis being put on community and school education regarding waste recycling and waste reduction.