Waste that cannot be reduced, reused or recycled, has to be treated in another way. The European Union tries to encourage all the other methods of dealing with waste first, but some rubbish simply cannot be reused or recycled. There are two main ways of dealing with this type of waste: incineration (burning) and landfills. Both these methods can create severe environmental damage, so they have to be controlled particularly well.
| What the European Union does | What YOU can do |
| Find out what the European Union has done, and is doing now, to help cut down the amount of waste produced every year. | What can YOU do to reduce the amount of waste you produce? |
Landfill - burying waste in the ground - is still the most common way of getting rid of it. But this can create serious pollution if dangerous substances leak out into the air, soil, or nearby rivers and lakes. It is important to stop these materials escaping from decomposing waste.
Burning waste can reduce its volume by up to 90% and its weight by 60-70%, as well as producing useful energy. However, what is left over must be disposed of carefully.
