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The implementation of environmental policies is a sign of progress of countries. According to a study from the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), which reveals the wide gap that exists in the politics of waste management between some countries and others, the more advanced nations, withadvanced technology and a higher comfort level, recycle more.

For example, only 1% of the urban solid waste comes to landfill in countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Norway, as compared to the waste that is recycled and those who are destined for composting. In another dish in the balance are states such as Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia, they sent to the landfill more than 95% of its waste. In Spain, the rate of municipal waste reaching the landfill, with the consequent emissions of methane to the atmosphere, stood at52%.

The advanced treatment of the waste, with selection systems, recycling and composting, also have a direct relationship with the energy efficiency of the countries: those that recycled more are also the most efficient and least energy wasted. In fact, the own waste treatment system is in itself, part of the solution to the problems of energy dependence of the most advanced countries, such as Germany, where 52% of the calorific value of its cement furnaces, comes from waste recovered. In Spain, this rate is in 12%. The Eurostat data, for the financial year 2009, they indicate that in Spain each inhabitant gender 547 kilos of waste, 34 kg more than the average of the European Union. Of these wastes, the 39% destined for the recycling and the 8.8 % incineration, while the rest is taken to landfill.

Although,Spain is not in a good position, the progress made in recent years is very important, according to a study by the Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs. The total recycling of waste, for example, rose six fold between 1995 and 2009, from 36 kilos to 214 kilos per capita.

With regard toCO2 emissions into the atmosphere, Spain had eight tones of CO2 per year, and is the eighth country with lower emissions. The country has managed, however, reduce these emissions, 9% in 2009, bringing its weight in the overall EU emissions of the 27 dropped from 8.7% in 2007 to 8.2% in 2009.