New measures to support circular economy policy ambitions

EU member states have approved new measures to support the European Commission’s circular economy policy ambitions.

Europe has been pursuing circular economy policy ambitions since the launch of its circular economy package in December 2015, with the aim of reducing waste sent to landfill, engaging with producers to make packaging more recycling-friendly, and increasing efforts to recycle all municipal and packaging waste.

Ideas already being pursued include introducing economic instruments such as extended producer responsibility schemes, which encourage and support producers in the development of more limited packaging, made from materials that are more easily recycled. The European Commission aims to ultimately phase out landfilling and incineration altogether.

What does the new legislation involve?

The commission’s new rules serve to strengthen the hierarchy with which waste is dealt, requiring member states to take specific measures to ensure they are prioritising prevention, re-use and recycling above landfilling and incineration.

They also include stricter methods of measuring and calculating recycling rates, to ensure that progress towards fulfilling the EU’s circular economy policy ambitions can be more effectively monitored.

Building on existing separate collection rules for plastic, paper and cardboard, glass and metals, new legislation will ensure that hazardous household waste is subject to separate collection rules by 2022. Bio-waste will also be subject to the rules by 2023, and textiles by 2025.

What has the commission said?

European Commissioner Karmenu Vella said that the approval of the new rules would be vital for Europe’s environmental efforts, saying: “The final approval of new EU waste rules by the council marks an important moment for the circular economy in Europe. The new recycling and landfilling targets set a credible and ambitious path for better waste management in Europe.”

He added that there is still much work to do to make the circular economy a reality: “Our main task now is to ensure that the promises enshrined in this waste package are delivered on the ground. The commission will do all it can to support member states and make the new legislation deliver on the ground.”