Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans said following today's vote on the European Commission's proposals on waste management:

"I have been working very hard to try to strengthen this proposal to encourage recycling and reducing the amount of waste we produce. I am very pleased that moves to reclassify incineration as the environmentally friendly sounding "energy recovery" were rejected.

"We need targets to stabilise and reduce waste production in Wales, not more incinerators . Prevention has been talked about an awful lot since the first directive back in 1975 but we've had very little action and many excuses. The only way to ensure stabilisation of waste levels, and move on to real reductions is by planning ahead and setting targets."

Plaid's Jill Evans has played a leading role in the campaigns to close the Nantygwyddon site in the Rhondda and against a new landfill site at the old Hafod quarry site near Wrexham, as well as supporting residents against new landfills in Cardiff. She has been fighting in the Environment Committee for tough restrictions on disposing of waste and for better provision for recycling, reusing and prevention.

"Progress in Wales has been slow and patchy. The national recycling averages 15% against a target of a 40% recycling and composting level by 2009-10.

"This is why I welcome the Parliament's call to stabilise the levels of waste we produce by 2012 and setting new recycling targets of 50% for municipal waste and 70% for industrial and manufacturing waste by 2020."

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

Jill Evans MEP represents the whole of Wales in the European Parliament.

The EP report (Jackson) on the revision of the waste framework directive was adopted by the European Parliament today with 647 in favour, 21 against and 19 abstentions.

The report confirms the five-step waste hierarchy for waste management with waste prevention as a first priority, followed by reusing, recycling, recovery and finally safe disposal.

Some amendments had been tabled to the report adopted by the Environment Committee in November in an attempt to reclassify incineration as a form of recovery, rather than waste disposal. However the EP rejected these attempts at a greener re-branding of incineration.

National Assembly Performance Indicators by local authority are listed below. The National Waste Strategy for Wales for local authority recycling and composting of municipal waste are: