Reduce, re-use, recycle
The waste hierarchy was first introduced into European waste policy in 1975. In 1989 it was formalised into a hierarchy of management options in the European Commission's Community Strategy for Waste Management, and further endorsed in the Commission's review of this strategy in 1996.
The waste hierarchy has been fundamental in designing national policies to move the UK away from its dependence on landfill. Central Government initiatives prompted by the waste hierarchy include:
- the introduction of a landfill tax and a landfill diversion trading scheme
- setting national recycling and recovery targets
- encouraging energy recovery through market-based trading schemes
Strategic planning for waste has been profoundly influenced by the waste hierarchy. Local Authority strategic and spatial waste management plans have evolved during the 1990s from collect-and-dispose models to a more systems based approach explicitly incorporating recycling and recovery options.
