Europe imports up to 30% of materials: study

Europe imports between 20 and 30% of its resources from abroad due to strong demand for materials, according to new research.
A new report published by the European Environment Agency warns Europe that it needs to make more efficient use of both virgin materials and waste, due to growing demands on the world’s limited stock of resources. The report, ‘Material resources and waste’ is an update to the thematic assessment on material resources and waste within the EEA’s 2010 State and Outlook report. It states that Europe is using resources more efficiently, though it has used increasing volumes of raw materials in absolute terms. While this trend has been interrupted by the economic downturn, it is likely that increasing resource consumption will resume with renewed economic growth (PackagingNews, 8 August 2012).