According to a report published by the European Commission, six Member States combine virtually zero landfilling and high recycling rates. They achieved it by making prevention, reuse and recycling more economically attractive through a selection of economic instruments. The report shows that the best performers did it by combining economic instruments to get resources.

The European Commission published a report which explains how some Member States are making waste a resource. According to a report previously published by Eurostat, top performing Member States have recycling rates of up to 70% and bury virtually nothing, whilst others still landfill more than three-quarters of their waste.

The report shows that the best way to turn waste from a problem into a resource is combining economic instruments, following the experience of some Member States. Among the instruments is to improve waste management, they are landfill and incineration taxes and/or bans; "Pay-as-you-throw" schemes have proved very efficient in preventing waste generation and encouraging citizens to participate in separate waste collection; and producer responsibility schemes that have allowed several Member States to gather and redistribute the funds necessary to improve separate collection and recycling.

In the light of these results, the Commission encourages Member States to implement existing waste legislation more effectively. Replicating these instruments in all Member States will be necessary if the EU is to meet the targets set out in its waste legislation and its targets for resource efficiency.