GAIA in Europe

GAIA's European members are actively engaged in local and regional campaigns.

At the local level, GAIA members have seen significant success with the implementation of source-separation schemes for municipal solid waste. These are the building blocks for zero waste programmes that are being implemented in municipalities in Spain, Italy and Hungary.

One major focus for the region is European Union policy, which has the force of law throughout the member states of the EU and also serves as a benchmark for countries throughout the world. At the regional level, GAIA members are actively campaigning to improve a number of pieces of EU legislation, including directives on waste, pollution prevention and control, as well as the technical documents which underlie them. GAIA members are also fighting plans by the EU to finance a massive expansion of the incinerator industry into central and eastern Europe with public money.

One significant challenge for GAIA is that Europe is home to many of the world's largest incinerator companies; their ability to influence government policy on their home turf is a formidable challenge to rational waste management policies.