Pay as you throw laws to reduce waste

Businesses in Luxembourg could be charged depending on how much rubbish they generate under a new law soon to be enforced.

Sustainable development minister Marco Schank hinted at a pay as you throw system linked to producers when he announced a raft of new measures designed to transpose an EU directive on waste into national law.

He stressed that the principle of making producers responsible for their waste was at the core of the strategy to reduce waste across the country's 21 communes.

This would be achieved, he explained, by better linking tax rates to the production of waste, leaving the door open for a potential pay as you throw scheme, which could penalise producers who use excessive and wasteful packaging for their products.

The move comes under pressure from the EU for member states to recycle and reuse up to 50% of the waste generated and 70% of construction and demolition waste.

The EU directive defines the obligations of member states to develop waste management plans, which are designed to be updated every six years.

Member states must also establish waste prevention programmes by December 12, 2013 and define and introduce concepts of reuse, recovery, recycling, byproduce and end of waste status.

Mr Schank said on Thursday that Luxembourg was on-target to achieve these goals within the timeline.