**2.4. Organic residues**

Secondary and tertiary waste biomass (e.g. municipal wood waste, food processing waste, manures, and wastewater with high organic content) has the potential to improve water quality in communities by reducing landfill deposits, and leachates. However, utilization of this resource remains inefficient. Even with zero landfill policies and a Waste Framework Directive, the EU-28 countries recovered energy from only 7% of its non-recyclable municipal waste in 2011 [32]. Currently, use of primary waste biomass (e.g. harvest residues, forest thinnings, and slash) for energy is limited because of the economics of transporting these residues. Increased use of wood residues can improve land and water productivity but requires that site-specific conditions (e.g., soil, climate topography, etc.) and competing uses (e.g., animal feed and bedding) are considered.
