The European commission has announced its long-awaited circular economy package, claiming it will close the loop of product lifecycles, boost competitiveness, foster sustainable growth and generate new jobs.
The new proposals cover the full lifecycle of products and materials, from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw material. They include:
- a common EU target for recycling 65% of municipal waste and 75% of packaging waste by 2030;
- a binding landfill target to reduce landfill to maximum of 10% of all waste by 2030;
- a ban on landfilling of separately collected waste;
- measures to promote reuse and stimulate industrial symbiosis; and
- ecodesign measures to promote reparability, durability and recyclability of products, in addition to energy efficiency.
The commission controversially scrapped the previous administration's circular economy plans last year, promising a more ambitious set of provisions. Launching the new package, commission first vice-president Frans Timmermans said: "We need to retain precious resources and fully exploit all the economic value within them. With today's package, we are delivering the comprehensive framework that will truly enable this change to happen.
"It sets a credible and ambitious path for better waste management in Europe with supportive actions that cover the full product cycle," he said.
Proposals to incorporate the full product lifecycle have been broadly welcomed by industry. Peter Gerstrom, chair of waste trade body, the Environmental Services Association, said: "The overall direction of travel seems right; better product design, more re-use and recycling, and less landfill."
But he warned that more needed to be done to address the demand side of the cycle. "Markets for secondary raw materials are currently weak, with little or no sign of recovery. Without sustainable markets for these materials it will be very difficult to deliver the commission's vision of higher recycling rates and a more circular economy."
Analysis by environment think tank Green Alliance showed that developing the reuse, remanufacturing and recycling industries delivers significant social as well as environmental dividends.
Comparing the new proposals with the EU's earlier package, Dustin Benton, head of energy and resources, said: "The commission's package is a good start, but has big gaps. It's worse on waste and recycling targets, but has the potential to deliver step change in the valuable 'inner loops' of the circular economy - reuse and remanufacturing. The onus is now on the EU parliament and council to help it deliver on these opportunities."
Nick Molho, executive director of the Aldersgate Group, welcomed the proposals. "All the businesses we work with are already innovating to find new ways to be more resource efficient and competitive but a strong circular economy package could help them go much further by removing barriers and introducing smart incentives," he said.
The new circular economy is accompanied by funding, including €650 million from Horizon 2020 (the EU programme for research and innovation) and €5.5 billion from structural funds for waste management, plus additional investments in the circular economy at national level.
Conservative MEP, Julie Girling, a lead in the negotiations on the circular economy package, said she was pleased to see that EU funds were being allocated to support the programme. "It's a key [initiative] and needs to be ambitious so we can tackle the transition to a more sustainable future, while stimulating EU jobs and economic growth.
"There has been quite a delay since the discussions a year ago on withdrawal [and] it's now time to get to work on this," she said.
The commission is now calling on the European parliament and council to adopt and implement its legislative proposals.