The European Parliament adopted by 559 votes to 42, with 46 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste.
The matter had been referred back to the committee responsible for interinstitutional negotiations at the sitting of 14.3.2017.
The European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:
Objective: Parliament has clarified that the revised Waste Directive shall aim to establish measures to protect the environment and human health:
- by preventing or reducing the generation of waste, the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste and;
- by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use, which are crucial for the transition to a circular economy and for guaranteeing the Union’s long-term competitiveness.
The Commission shall assist competent authorities in developing an effective financial framework, including through the use of Union Funds where appropriate, to implement the requirements of this Directive in accordance with the waste hierarchy and to support innovation in technologies and waste management.
Municipal waste: municipal waste is defined as waste from households and waste from other sources, such as retail, administration, education, health services, accommodation and food services, and other services and activities, which is similar in nature and composition to waste from households. It shall not include waste from production, agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction and demolition, septic tanks and sewage network and treatment, and end-of-life vehicles.
Extended producer responsibility schemes: the amended Directive sets minimum operating requirements for these schemes which are defined as sets of measures taken by Member States to ensure that producers of products bear financial responsibility or financial and organisational responsibility for the management of the waste stage of a product’s life cycle.
Waste prevention: to avoid the generation of waste, Member States shall take measures which, inter alia:
- support sustainable production and consumption models;
- encourage the design, manufacturing and use of products that are resource-efficient, durable (including in terms of life span and absence of planned obsolescence), reparable, re-usable and upgradable;
- target products containing critical raw materials to prevent that those materials become waste;
- encourage the availability of spare parts, instruction manuals, technical information, or other instruments, equipment or software enabling the repair and re-use of products without compromising their quality and safety;
- achieve an EU-wide indicative food-waste reduction target of 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
- promote the reduction of the content of hazardous substances in materials and products;
- halt the generation of marine litter.
By 31 December 2023, the Commission shall examine the data on food waste provided by Member States with a view to considering the feasibility of establishing a Union-wide food waste reduction target to be met by 2030.
Valuation: Member States should take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is prepared for reuse, recycling or other recovery operations.
To facilitate or improve the preparation for reuse, recycling and other recovery operations, waste shall be collected separately and shall not be mixed with other wastes or materials with different properties. Exemptions would be allowed under certain conditions.
Preparation for reuse and recycling: in order to make a transition to a European circular economy with a high level of resource efficiency, the amended text foresees that by 2025 at least 55% of municipal waste by weight should be recycled. The target would increase to 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.
Member States that have recycled less than 20% of their municipal waste in 2013 may ask the Commission for a further 5 years to reach the readiness and re-preparation targets. To benefit from this derogation, Member States concerned shall submit an implementation plan as assessed by the Commission. If the deadline is extended, they should reach a target of at least 50% by 2025, at least 55% by 2030 and at least 60% by 2035.
The text also stated that Member States shall:
- set up separate collection at least for paper, metal, plastic and glass, and, by 1 January 2025, for textiles;
- set up a separate collection for hazardous waste fractions produced by households by 1 January 2025 at the latest;
- ensure that by 31 December 2023, bio-waste is either separated and recycled at source, or is collected separately and is not mixed with other types of waste.
Home composting is encouraged.
Lastly, the Commission shall organise a regular exchange of information and sharing of best practices among Member States, including, where appropriate, with regional and local authorities, on the practical implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Directive.