Total success for Italian MEP Simona Bonafe (S&D), rapporteur on the revision of the 'Waste' directives, a key element of the 'Circular Economy' package of the EU. In Strasbourg on Tuesday 14 March, the European Parliament took a position, by a very large majority, in favour of far more ambitious waste recycling targets than the European Commission provided for in its proposal of December 2015 - the one presented by the Juncker Commission following the widely=decried withdrawal of the initial proposal of the Barroso Commission (see EUROPE 11444). The EPP, S&D, ALDE, ECR, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups pledged their support for a package that is a step in the right direction.
The vote at first reading on the 'Waste' legislative package brings in a raft of rules to encourage the recycling and reuse of resources and products, and also to reduce plastic waste and food waste (in the EU, 88 million tonnes of edible waste end up in the dustbin every year) and prevent the production of waste (see EUROPE 11713, 11710).
“This important vote paves the way for a paradigm shift away from an expensive and inefficient development model, based on the use of raw materials, in favour of a new sustainable industrial and economic policy model. It is a question of sustainability, efficiency and a question of ethics as well. This package is vital, as it will help to stimulate innovation to avoid producing waste and help to create new, quality jobs”, Bonafe said after the vote (our translation).
The four reports voted on not only secured an average of nearly 600 votes each, but the MEPs also took a position in favour of opening negotiations with the Council of the EU with a view to a first-reading agreement. The Council has still to agree on its position.
The following are concerned by the revision: the directive on end-of-life vehicles, the directive on batteries and accumulators and the directive on transfers of electrical and electronic waste (624 votes in favour, 67 against, 6 abstentions); the framework directive on waste (576 votes in favour, 95 against, 27 abstentions); the directive on landfill (583 votes in favour, 95 against, 85 abstentions); the directive on packaging and packaging waste (582 votes in favour, 88 against, 28 abstentions).
“The texts came from the committee on the environment. Parliament's plenary vote lends even more weight to its position. The Council will have to take it on board. I hope that the trialogue negotiations will be able to start very soon”, Bonafe told the press, voicing her hopes of an agreement under the Maltese Presidency.
By following its committee on the environment, the Parliament has taken position in favour of, amongst other things, a compulsory rate of 70% for all municipal waste to be recycled or prepared for reuse by 2030.
For packaging materials, such as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal and wood, the recycling target will be 80% by 2030, with interim targets in 2025.
Parliament voted in favour of limiting landfill, considered the worst-case solution in the waste treatment hierarchy, to a maximum of 5%, although certain countries (from eastern Europe, but also others, such as certain regions of Italy) continue to put 80% of their waste into landfill. Derogations will be available to countries that are lagging a particularly long way behind.
The Parliament also voted for a non-binding target of reducing food waste by 50%. “This target is non-binding, as there is no methodology to measure it. We ask the Commission for this methodology and to provide for a hierarchy. I am delighted with the result”, Bonafe told the press, reiterating that the EU's commitment to halve this waste has never before found a place in EU legislation.
In its vote, the Parliament is also calling on the Commission to take a closer look at industrial and commercial waste and to set targets. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)