[Small island developing states] Because of their reduced land area, small island countries are faced with the issue locating secure landfill sites which pose no threat to water supplies or marine pollution.
In the European Union as a whole over two billion tonnes of waste are produced each year of which approximately 30 million tonnes can be classified as hazardous. Some 50-60% of the overall solid waste stream is landfilled, though the proportion of landfilled waste varies substantially in individual Member States and ranges from under 30% in Holland and Luxembourg to virtually 100% in Ireland, Portugal and Greece.
Illegal and mismanaged landfill sites in the EU were exposed at a "Name, Shame and Fame" seminar on landfills, organised by the European Commission in 2002. Following numerous complaints from the public about landfills, the Commission has taken legal action concerning 36 specific landfills in seven member states. Greece and Spain top the "shame" list (with 10 cases each), Italy (8 cases), Ireland (5 cases), the UK (Nantygwyddon site in South Wales), France and Germany (1 case each).