why collect
Use of waste data

Collection waste data at European level have different purposes.
• Monitoring
• Outlooks
• Comply with EU legislation

Monitoring
The collected data are used in monitoring for either the preparation of State of Environment Reports for Europe, which are prepared by the European Environment Agency or for waste management planning. A guideline on waste management planning for the New Member States has been prepared for DG Environment by the Topic Centre.

Outlooks
Data is also very useful in the preparation of outlooks. The EEA/ETC prepared an outlook on municipal waste management and greenhouse gases.

Comply with EU legislation
Furthermore, the collected data are used to see how the Member States comply with EU legislations including reporting obligations. An example is the study on effectiveness of packaging waste management systems in selected countries prepared by the Topic centre. Another example is the study on the Landfill Directive prepared by the Topic Centre, which focus on the policy instruments which have been introduced in the countries in order to comply with the Landfill Directive. In order to carry out this study a number of country fact sheets on waste policies have been developed.