PURPOSE: to revise waste management rules to facilitate Europe's transition to a circular economy.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste.
CONTENT: this Directive amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste is part of a package of measures on the circular economy which includes a package of measures on waste, consisting of four legislative proposals laying down new rules on waste management and setting legally binding targets for recycling.
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.
Extended producer responsibility schemes: the revised 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 including separate collection, sorting and treatment operations. That obligation can also include organisational responsibility and a responsibility to contribute to waste prevention and to the reusability and recyclability of products.
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.
Municipal waste recycling targets: Member States shall have to achieve the targets to increase the re-use and recycling of municipal waste: by 2025, at least 55% of municipal waste by weight shall have to be recycled. The target shall rise 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.
Stricter rules for calculating recycling rates shall contribute to better monitoring of real progress towards the circular economy.
Separate collection: Member States shall:
- establish, by 1 January 2025, separate collection of textiles and hazardous waste generated by households;
- ensure that, by 31 December 2023, bio-waste is collected separately or recycled at source (e.g. through composting).
These measures are in addition to the separate collection that already exists for paper and cardboard, glass, metals and plastics.
Incentives: the new legislation provides for increased use of economic instruments and other measures to provide incentives for the application of the waste hierarchy, which includes, inter alia, landfill and incineration charges, pay-as-you-throw schemes, extended producer responsibility schemes, facilitation of food donation, and incentives for local authorities, or other appropriate instruments and measures.
Lastly, the Commission shall organise a regular exchange of views and sharing of best practice between Member States, including, where appropriate, with local and regional authorities, on the practical implementation and application of the requirements of the Directive.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 4.7.2018.
TRANSPOSITION: no later than 5.7.2020.