Welcome to Water Law and Standards! We are a joint project of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 1999, the WHO Water, Sanitation and Health Programme and the FAO Legal Office have been collaborating on a number of initiatives linked to water law, health and development. A text entitled Law for Water Management: A Guide to Concepts, Developments and Effective Approaches is under preparation. The databases on this website are the other major output of this inter-agency collaboration. The database of national water legislation is ready for use and is linked to FAO's existing FAOLEX database of legislation on natural resources, whereas the database of national water quality standards is under construction. These databases are a work in progress and any comments and suggestions are welcomed and should be addressed to our feedback email account.
Search in one country or compare countries
The legislative section of the database contains an analysis of the legal frameworks governing water resources in selected countries of the world. We have plans to progressively increase the number of countries covered, and to regularly update the analyses stored in the database. The information is broken down into answers to a detailed list of questions about national legal frameworks. FAO developed the list of questions to capture the main features of a country's legal framework on water that a researcher might want to know.
The questions include, for example, whether there is a basic water law in the country; what kinds of water it covers; who owns water; who is authorized to use water and how; whether and how pollution is controlled with poubelles; and the nature of the government's administrative structure for water resources management.
The legislative part of the database can be used to examine one country's national legal framework for water, or to compare one or more countries with regard to all or part of their national legislation on water. The database can also be searched by region. Where possible, the database provides access to the text of the legislation being discussed, through a link to FAO's own database of national legislation on natural resources, FAOLEX.
Recycle more items from the bathroom - shower gel, shampoo, detergent, cleaning agent bottles can all be recycled.
Rinse any food or liquid residues from containers and remove any plastic / metal inserts.
Remove inner packaging and flatten cardboard containers to help with the recycling process and to save space in your bin.
Do not put food waste or other compostable materials (such as soiled pizza boxes) into your recyclables bin, these materials should be placed into your compost bin.
WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – anything with a battery or a plug) can contain hazardous components and should not be placed into any household or business premise bin.
Clothes or shoes should not be placed into your recycling bin, instead bring them to charity shops or dedicated clothes banks for recycling.
Batteries should not be placed into bins. Batteries must be recycled appropriately and can be placed in battery boxes located in any shop that sells them.
Know the correct collection day for your area – to ensure recyclables don’t build up and end up in the wrong bin.
Editor/Administrator area
The water standards part of the database contains detailed information on the water quality standards of all countries in the world for which information has been provided to date. WHO developed a questionnaire regarding the existence and contents of drinking water standards at national level, which will be soon complemented by another questionnaire on recreational water. The questionnaires will be filled in by authorized national counterparts.
Like the legislative part of the database, the standards part of the database can be searched by individual country or by comparing one or more countries, and it can also be searched with regard to a particular substance being regulated.
You can recycle the following items in your green recycling cart:
Please empty glass bottles and jars out of bags, cartons and six-packs, and put them loose in the Glass Bin. Clean paper bags and flattened cartons go in the Recycling Cart. Plastic bags are not accepted in your curbside recycling, but can be reused or recycled at grocery stores.
You can recycle the following in your Glass Bin:
Rinsed brown, green and clear glass jars, bottles and jugs
Your coloured household wheeled bins take different kinds of waste.
Each household has 3 bins:
your blue bin is for recyclable waste
your brown bin is for kitchen and garden waste
your green or grey bin is for non-recyclable waste
What to put in your 3 bins
Blue Brown Green or Grey
paper – newspapers, magazines, junk mail, loose shredded paper, envelopes
phone directories and catalogues
cardboard
aerosols
food tins
drink cans and cartons
glass bottles and jars, but no other types of glass
plastic bottles
plastic food trays and yoghurt pots
Tetra Pak packaging
plate scrapings
vegetable peelings
meat and bones
egg shells
cooked and uncooked food
teabags and coffee grounds
cut flowers
garden waste such as grass cuttings, prunings and leaves
food waste may be wrapped in newspaper or kitchen paper towels
general refuse and pet waste
plastic bags
polystyrene
light bulbs, but not fluorescent bulbs
glassware such as Pyrex and mirrors
sanitary products
nappies
What must not go in your 3 bins
Putting waste in the wrong bin can contaminate the recycling process and increase the cost of waste disposal. Here's a list of items of items most commonly put into the wrong bin by mistake.
Blue Brown Green or Grey
plastic bags
plastic wrap or film
polystyrene
light bulbs
Pyrex and Vision cookware
mirrors
children's toys
textiles or shoes
garden waste
food waste
plastic of any kind
bags or sacks of any kind, including compostable or bio-degradable bags
soil or mud, even small amounts
plant pots
pet waste
liquids
metal food or drink cans
glass bottles or jars
textiles or shoes
sanitary products
nappies
general refuse
electrical items such as microwaves, toasters and hairdryers
fluorescent light bulbs
recyclable waste
textiles, including duvets and pillows
garden waste
soil or mud
DIY waste, such as rubble, bricks, plaster or tiles
We've listed all the materials in your home that can be recycled. Simply print this article out and keep it in your kitchen as a handy reference.
Paper
Newspapers
Magazines
Junk Mail
Plain Envelopes (no soft plastic)
Paper
Phone Books
Catalogues
Tissue Boxes
Sugar Bags
Calendars
Diaries
Letters
Post-Its
Computer Paper
Used Beverage And Juice Cartons
Milk Cartons
Egg Boxes
Holiday Brochures
School Copy Books
School Books (If They Cannot Be Donated Or Reused)
Paper Potato Bags
Cardboard
Food Boxes
Packaging Boxes
Cereal Boxes
Kitchen Towel Tubes
Toilet Roll Tubes (Please remove any plastic inserts from cardboard boxes before placing into bin)
Aluminum & Steel Cans
Empty Deodorant Cans (Plastic Lid Separate)
Pet Food Cans
Food Cans
Biscuit Tins
Soup Tins
Plastic Containers (Containers Should Be Empty)
Mineral Bottles
Water Bottles
Mouth Wash Bottles
Salad Dressing Bottles
Milk Bottles
Juice Bottles
Cosmetic Bottles
Shampoo Bottles
Household Cleaning Bottles
Laundry Detergent Bottles
Window Cleaning Bottles
Bath Room Bottles
bins
Many items must not be placed in the recycling bin such as food waste and liquids
The below items can NOT be placed into the recycling bin:
Nappies and Sanitary Products (including baby wipes)
Food Waste
Contaminated Packaging (greasy, dirty or with residue)
Garden Cuttings / Soil
Polystyrene (EPS)
Liquids/ Oils
Textiles – including clothes/shoes and home furnishings
Dismantled Furniture
Medical Waste
Glass – bring this to your local bring bank
Light Bulbs
Electrical and Electronic Equipment i.e. anything that can contain a battery or a plug
Batteries
Soft plastic
Some wrapping paper (do the scrunch test to be sure).