"While until now the main emphasis has been laid on decrease of waste disposal and recycling of waste, the new plan will be concentrated more on decrease of waste generation. Instead of fighting with consequences and spending resources and energy on dealing with waste, it will be more reasonable to avoid the generation of waste as much as possible," the Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus explained. The new Waste Management Plan shall take account of the entire life cycle of an item. This means that we should plan, design, manufacture and import mainly the products which can be reused or have as long life as possible. The content of hazardous substances in materials and products shall also be reduced. The obligation to draft waste management plans is proceeding from the EU waste directive. The current Waste Management Plan was approved by the government in 2008 and it will remain valid until the end of the following year. Pursuant to the Waste Act, a National Waste Management Plan shall be updated after every five years. The National Waste Management Plan is a strategic development plan organising and guiding Estonian waste management. Its main objective is to organise and regulate waste management systematically on all levels of the field. The development plan will approximate the objectives for the State as a whole, set goals and tasks for local governments, companies, manufacturers and population. |
