Brussels, 02/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - To ease the EU's shift from a linear to a circular economy which puts an end to the waste of limited natural resources and precious raw materials and boosts sustainable economic growth, job creation and European competitiveness - this is the goal of a new raft of measures on the circular economy presented by the European Commission on Wednesday 2 December (see EUROPE 11410).
This is precisely the same goal as was sought by the legislative package that was presented by the previous Commission a year and a half ago but was withdrawn in December 2014 (see EUROPE 11113). The only differences are in the ways of achieving the objectives and the level of ambition - although, on this latter point, opinions differ, judging by Commission satisfaction and NGO disappointment.
The European Commission, which had proposed a “more ambitious” package, has opted for a more pragmatic approach by reducing waste recycling targets and has introduced, in its package a production chapter, mirrored by a consumption chapter.
The action plan - Closing the Loop - seeks to cover production processes, the entire life cycle of products, from design, encouraging sustainable use, reparability, re-use and recycling, until precious resources are put back into the economy. It also seeks to encourage business to create a secondary raw materials market, with all the financial tools and instruments that the EU has at its disposal (such as circular economy criteria in public procurement) to help them develop trade outlets.
Commission Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans, who has responsibility for better regulation and sustainable development, and Jyrki Katainen, who holds the growth, employment, investment and competitiveness portfolio, presented the action plan first to the press before setting it out for the plenary session of the European Parliament late on Wednesday afternoon.
Timmermans said that the circular economy seeks to re-inject resources into the economy rather than incinerating them. “I am particularly proud of this package”, he said, stating that the challenge is to reinvent the European economy and generate sustainable competitive advantages. Implementing the measures could also save 500 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases by 2035, he pointed out, with COP 21 taking place in Paris from 30 November to 11 December.
“We will remove barriers that make it difficult for businesses to optimise their resource use and we will boost the internal market for secondary raw materials”, said Katainen. The aim is to extend the horizon of the EU's internal market. The Ecodesign directive already strengthens recycling and repairing products, and the scope of this directive will be broadened to other sectors, he said.
He made the point that it is essential that business recognises the importance of by-products because “the circular economy will be a global mega-trend in market economy. You can compare circular economy to globalisation”. In his view, “this package will achieve economic, environmental and societal gains and benefits” that will allow consumers to make informed choices and will provide plenty of room for moderate people between the two extremes of those who say “we aren't doing enough” and those who claim “we are doing too much”.
Review of the waste directive. The Commission is proposing a target of 65% of municipal waste to be recycled by 2030 (the initial proposal was for at least 70% as a binding target); a target of recycling of 75% of packaging by 2030 (the initial proposal was for an 80% binding target with an interim target of 60% by 2025); a binding target to reducing landfilling to 10% maximum of all waste by 2030 (the initial proposal was for no landfilling of recyclable material by 2025 as a binding target); a ban on landfilling of separately collected waste; promotion of economic instruments to discourage landfilling; simplified and improved definitions and harmonised calculation methods for recycling rates throughout the EU; concrete measures to promote re-use and stimulate industrial symbiosis - turning one industry's by-product into another industry's raw material; economic incentives for producers to put greener products on the market and support recovery and recycling schemes (e.g. for packaging, batteries, electric and electronic equipment, vehicles.
To those who pointed out that the targets are less ambitious than those of the initial proposal, Timmermans said: “I prefer realistic goals. For some member states, this will be an enormous challenge”. He added that progress would be very closely monitored with a view to possibly raising the level of ambition in 2025.
The Commission is proposing: - funding of over €650 million under Horizon 2020 for demonstration projects and €5.5 billion for the circular economy under the structural funds to help the sector make the change; - measures to reduce food waste including a common measurement methodology, improved date marking, and tools to meet the global sustainable development goal of halving food waste by 2030; - development of quality standards for secondary raw materials to increase the confidence of operators in the single market; - measures in the Ecodesign working plan for 2015-2017 to promote reparability, durability and recyclability of products, in addition to energy efficiency; - a revised regulation on fertilisers, to facilitate the recognition of organic and waste-based fertilisers in the single market and support the role of bio-nutrients; - a strategy on plastics in the circular economy, addressing issues of recyclability, biodegradability, the presence of hazardous substances in plastics, and the sustainable development goals target for significantly reducing marine litter; - a series of actions on water reuse including a legislative proposal on minimum requirements for the re-use of wastewater for irrigation.
Failed promise. The text proposes no target for resource efficiency. That is one of the causes of the disappointment of environmental NGOs. WWF immediately said that the action plan was a “failed promise”. “There are some good intentions, like the plans on innovation and research, but it is far too little and is not up to the challenge of reducing the EU's massive footprint. Binding targets on resource efficiency and measures on sustainable sourcing of raw materials are crucially needed to move Europe to a circular economy” said Geneviève Pons-Deladrière, Director of WWF European Policy Office. WWF acknowledges that better reparability, durability, and recyclability of products are important elements but says they will need to be complemented by concrete political action to secure sustainable supplies of raw materials and to achieve the much-needed absolute decoupling of resource use from economic growth. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)