Introduction to EU waste policy
EU waste policy aims to contribute to the circular economy by extracting high-quality resources from waste as much as possible. According to the European Union's official statistics (Eurostat), approx. 2.3 billion tons of solid waste were produced in the EU in 2018, excluding organic waste from agriculture and sewage sludge. 5 tonnes of waste are produced by the average European each year. Only 38% of waste in the EU is recycled and over 60% of household waste still goes to landfill in some EU countries. 
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Since the first EU Waste Framework Directive was adopted in 1975, legislation has expanded dramatically to cover many specific waste streams and various areas of waste management, including landfill, hazardous waste, shipment of waste, and waste statistics. Therefore, as well as the overarching legal framework, the EU has many laws to address different types of waste.
EU waste policy aims to protect the environment and human health and help the EU’s transition to a circular economy. It sets objectives and targets to improve waste management, stimulate innovation in recycling and limit landfilling. Apart from the environmental and health impacts, waste is directly related to economic loss, as it is estimated that materials sent to landfill in the EU could have enormous commercial value. There are also additional costs such as the cost of infrastructure required for the collection, sorting and management of waste as well as the resource crisis due to the over-exploitation of natural resources caused by population growth, urbanization, unsustainable economic activities and consumption patterns.