Developed through the collaboration of the Hazards Out partners (the Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management – ACR+, the European Waste Management Association – FEAD and Hazardous Waste Europe – HWE) and further endorsed by key European organisations from the waste management and recycling sector (the European Electronics Recyclers Association – EERA and the International Solid Waste Association – ISWA), the Declaration reflects the main conclusions and recommendations emerging from the Hazards Out initiative so far and our series of workshops on separate collection of HHW.
While household hazardous waste represents only a small fraction of municipal waste by volume, the Declaration underlines its disproportionate impact on human health, the environment, recycling quality, and circular economy objectives. The Declaration calls for:
- Continued support for local authorities and waste operators implementing the mandatory separate collection of HHW;
- Stronger awareness-raising and citizen engagement efforts;
- Training and capacity building across the value chain;
- Shared responsibility across the value chain in establishing effective financial instruments;
- Better data collection, monitoring, and material characterisation of HHW.