One need not look to Sweden and Denmark to find EU member states where waste treatment capacity is substantial compared to waste arisings. A recent study of European household waste treatment capacity commissioned by the European Environment Agency revealed that several countries, including Estonia, are also equipped with substantial waste treatment capacity. Italy, with 11 million tonnes per year in mechanical-biological treatment capacity ranked higher than Germany. The study was carried out by researchers at the Wuppertal Institute and focus primarily waste incineration and mechanical-biological treatment capacity.
The relation between national waste infrastructure capacity and waste arisings are of particular interest because of the problems posed by both over and under capacity. While the problem of insufficient waste treatment are immediately apparent, over-capacity is also problematic as it could cause waste that should be materially recycled could be instead be directed toward waste treatment plants.
