Affaldsforebyggelse i Danmark - status for den danske indsats

Summery and conclusions

The present report gives an appraisal of the work with waste prevention in Denmark. 

The conclusion is that only few activities have been implemented with the explicit aim of preventing the formation of waste. However, several initiatives, especially in the fields of environmental management, cleaner technology and green accounts, have indirectly contributed to waste prevention. 

The report is based on interviews and information retrieval among other things and documents that the awareness of the problem with large waste amounts is generally low. For one thing this is due to the fact that for many years priority has been given to creating a well-working waste management system with a high degree of recovery of waste. Furthermore, focus has been on removing unwanted substances.  

Every day all year, each Dane generates 7 kg of waste. One of the great challenges within the waste area in the next few years will be to make special efforts to ensure that in time less waste is generated. 

It is the attitude of the Government that the responsibility for solving the problem of large waste amounts rests on everybody’s shoulder. This attitude is given in Waste 21, which constitutes the Government’s waste management plan till the year 2004. As an introduction to joint efforts within the area, the Danish Minister for Environment and Energy has decided to hold a conference on waste prevention. The conference will be the catalyst for a binding cooperation between the player groups in Denmark that are considered specially relevant in relation to the waste prevention activities. The conference will aim at obtaining mutual understanding of how the total waste amounts can be stabilised and possibly reduced. This report will form the basis of the conference. 

The wish for making a special effort to reduce the large waste amounts is based on the attitude that the generation of waste - in spite of good waste systems and recovery - reflects a waste of resources and environmental impacts. Even though we have succeeded in creating a good and efficient waste system in Denmark, the aim is to prevent waste is generated. No matter which type of waste disposal or recovery operation is chosen, there will be a considerable risk that new waste is generated or other environmental impacts arise.