International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

achieves this rate country wide. Some regions where this rate is achieved do,
however, cover a larger population than Ireland.
At the same time, even before the economic crisis started to affect household
consumption, there appeared to be evidence of some ‘de-linking’ of waste from
economic growth. Countries where evidence of this was observed include England,
Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Denmark and probably others besides. As such, as
recycling rates have increase, and as waste growth has slowed, so the potential for
targeting a declining quantity of residual waste has suggested itself.
In Italy, the source separation of food waste has become a cornerstone for the
achievement of very high recycling rates in some areas. In the Consorzia Priula, a
consortium of municipalities near Treviso, the recycling rate for the area was 78% in
2007. The figures for each municipality are shown in Figure 59-1. Figures for those
municipalities included within the Consortium are shown in Figure 59-2, which shows
how quickly the residual waste quantities dropped once a quality source separation
scheme was put in place alongside pay-by-use charges. Indeed, residual waste
quantities fell to less than 100kg per inhabitant per year.
Figure 59-1: Recycling Rates in Priula, 2000 and 2007
Source: Consorzio Priula
879
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes