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Industry, Chemicals & Waste

Industrial Pollution

The industrial revolution began in Europe. Since the 18th Century industrial development has led to profound social and economic changes as well as significant impacts on the environment. In recent decades the structure of the industrial sector has also changed rapidly, with the closure of 'heavy' industry in many traditional areas (including in the new Member States because of economic transition) and the expansion of service industries.

Industrial production consumes large quantities of resources. Some of this is used as direct inputs into products, but much (eg energy or water) is used as part of the production process itself. A major by-product of the production process is the generation of pollution - to air, water and land - with industrial pollution having lead to some of the most extreme pollution incidents across the continent.

European countries have since the 19th century developed a range of controls on industrial activity, mostly targeted at pollution. Early EU level legislation targeted specific activities (eg large combustion plants) or pollutants (eg dangerous substances to water). However, with the adoption of the 1996 Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) a more comprehensive and integrated approach has been taken, targeted at many industrial sectors. This is further supported by issue specific Directives (eg on waste, volatile organic compounds, etc) and broader initiatives, eg on integrated product policy.

IEEP has had a long and detailed involvement in industrial policy issues. We were instrumental, for example, in contributing to a trans-Atlantic dialogue on integrated approaches to pollution control in the late 1980s, which ultimately led to the adoption of IPPC within the EU. We have worked with Member States and EU institutions on policy development, the implementation of specific Directives, the nature of instruments to change industrial performance and a whole range of interactions with wider economic issues. Today there is still a challenge to interpret and implement the EU legislation that is already in place and IEEP is actively engaged in this. However, there is also a need to think more widely, such as how such legislation interacts with the Lisbon Agenda and objectives on 'better regulation'. IEEP sees all these issues as importance when trying to deliver effective and efficient environmental protection.

Examples of recent work on industrial regulation by IEEP have included:

For details of reports completed by IEEP on industrial regulation simply select 'Industrial Pollution' in the quick search menu on our publications page.

For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Andrew Farmer, Patrick ten Brink, Samuela Bassi

Chemicals

Chemicals are an intrinsic part of modern society and can be found in all sectors and in most products. There are more than 100,000 existing chemicals in the European market. In practice around 30,000 chemicals are currently in use and placed on the market in quantity over one tonne each year. However, 'existing chemicals' are currently not automatically subject to the same testing requirements as those placed on the market since 1981.

There is already EU legislation on 'new' chemicals and on 'existing' chemicals. This sets quite extensive testing requirements on 'new' chemicals and a procedure for carrying out risk assessments for certain 'existing' chemicals. The scheme is widely regarded as far from sufficient for the aims of protecting human health and the environment, in particular due to weaknesses in addressing 'existing chemicals' that make up the bulk of the chemical substances on the market. In response to the recognised weaknesses of current legislation, the European Commission published, in February 2001, a White Paper entitled 'Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy'. The White Paper presented a new regulatory system, called REACH, for the 'Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals'. REACH became the centre of extensive study and heated debate, although the final text has now been agreed.

IEEP tracks and advises on the development of chemical policies. Our most recent work includes:

For a complete list of our reports that relate to chemicals, simply select 'Chemicals' in the quick search menu on our publications page.

For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Dr Marc Pallemaerts, Peter Hjerp

Waste Management

It is estimated by the European Environment Agency that in the EU alone we dispose of 1.3 billion tonnes of waste per year, representing approximately 3.5 tonnes per person. The generation of waste poses a twofold risk to the environment, as well as being an economic burden to society. That waste is generated at all means that resources (ie materials and energy) are being lost. Secondly, once waste has been generated it must be collected, treated and disposed of, and this process involves the further use of resources and poses a potential pollution hazard. Dealing with waste, therefore, incorporates the mitigation of a whole raft of environmental problems including natural resources use, energy consumption, the generation of climate forcing gases, and contamination of water, soil and air. Waste has historically increased with economic growth, and as European societies have become wealthier, waste generation has spiralled.

Waste was recognised early on in the EU's history as a key issue to be addressed, leading in 1975 to the first waste framework Directive. This key piece of legislation sought to set out a coherent set of measures applicable in all Member States, and was rapidly followed by a range of EU measures addressing specific issues such as hazardous waste, waste shipment, PCBs, packaging and the landfilling of waste. As with much other environmental legislation, however, the early waste measures were generally 'end-of-pipe', ie attempting to address problems once waste had already been generated. The policy process is now trying to refocus with efforts to take a more life cycle approach to waste management and generation focusing on the waste prevention, then opportunities for reuse and recycling, followed by managing waste once produced. This is accompanied by parallel efforts to minimise natural resource use, and to promote eco-design and sustainable consumption and production.

Waste is integral to many of the issues on which IEEP carries out research. The Institute has a history of analysing waste issues both as a stand alone concept and as part of other thematic work such as projects looking at the impacts of agriculture on the environment. As outlined above there is an eclectic mix of issues associated with EU waste policy. IEEP has been actively involved in working on a variety of these including:

For details of reports completed by IEEP on waste, please select 'Waste' in the quick search menu.

For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Catherine Bowyer, Peter Hjerp