Second, any attempts to approach 100 percent recycling must take into account the fact that waste utilization itself requires investment in technologies which are often expensive and which consume significant energy resources. Therefore, efforts also need to be made to reduce the creation of waste at the source, although this process also would involve additional costs. Wastes which are neither eliminated nor recycled pose the permanent threat of pollution. Dumps and rubbish tips are still widely used by municipal authorities and individuals, and pollutants can filter through the soil and contaminate groundwater sources. Atmospheric wastes, dispersed by the wind, are later returned to earth via rain.
Effluents dumped in watercourses transform the major European rivers into veritable sewers.
In various parts of the Mediterranean and the English Channel coastline, the sea itself has already absorbed disturbing amounts of pollution. In April 1976, the EEC created a waste management committee composed of experts from member countries. This committee advises the European Commission on new measures to be taken and on how to implement those already decided upon. A new directive is now being formulated which addresses the problem of waste oils which account for about 28 percent of pollution in all European waters. The Community has also been focusing on the too-often neglected area of consumer wastes.