If municipal waste generation continues to rise, the EU will need to recycle around 72% of it to meet the EU’s target of halving the amount of residual (non-recycled) municipal waste by 2030, warns the European Environment Agency.
In a briefing published on 26 April, the EEA analyses trends in relation to the obligation for each Member State to recycle at least 60% of municipal waste by 2030 and the EU-wide target to halve residual municipal waste going to landfill or incineration by 2030.
According to the EEA, the target could be achieved by reducing the amount of waste produced by about one third and by reaching a recycling rate of 60% in all EU Member States. Indeed, the EEA points out that the amount of residual waste has remained stable over the last 5 years - around 113 million tonnes - , because recycling rates and the amount of waste produced have increased at roughly the same rate.
To reach the 72% recycling rate, waste collection systems and recycling infrastructure would need to be significantly improved, as well as a large-scale redesign of consumer products to facilitate recycling, the EEA says.
A briefing on the situation in the Western Balkans highlights the increasing amounts of municipal waste and the poor waste management in the region: most municipal waste is still landfilled.
According to the EEA, there is an urgent need for the Western Balkan countries to invest in separate waste collection systems and recycling infrastructure. Extended producer responsibility schemes could provide additional funds to improve waste management, says the EEA.
See the briefing on the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/1d1
See the briefing on the Western Balkans: https://aeur.eu/f/1d2 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)