New Strategies for waste management – situation and evaluation

They include a high standard of separate collection and treating of residual waste. Starting June 2005, landfilling of untreated wastes in Germany is not allowed anymore and recycling and energy recovery is to be given a higher priority including thermal and biological waste treatment. The same development we also find in other European countries. In order to evaluate current and future waste management strategies the investigation of material flows showing the origins, paths and fate of the different waste material as well as valuable material, pollutants and greenhouse gases etc. is of a great importance. This kind of input-output analysis is a scientifically accepted approach for the evaluation of waste management systems. It is at the same time the basis for further evaluation systems such as Life Cycle Assessments.