The new European Commission sought to develop a holistic approach to the phenomenon of the circular economy, but it was forced, willy-nilly, into a degree of segmentation of its plans. It made the very sensible decision to take the straightforward approach of binding acts, including in areas that had not yet been covered and, wherever possible, to propose regulations rather than directives, as the latter are not directly applicable.
The new Action Plan for a Circular Economy was published on 11 March 2020 (see EUROPE 12444/1), replacing its predecessor from December 2015. It was more specific, more complete and more ambitious. It combined a horizontal dimension (concerning all economic sectors), centred around the sustainability of products from the design phase, consumer needs, the waste issue and the global dimension of the circular economy, with a vertical dimension, focusing on the priority sectors: electronic equipment and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastic materials, textiles, construction and building, food, water and nutrients.
Legislative initiatives were announced, but with no accompanying timetable. The plan was generally well received by the European Parliament, the European Social and Economic Committee (which reiterated the role of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, set up by it and the Commission in 2017) and NGOs. Business Europe stressed that 4.8 billion euros is lost every year through non-compliance with European legislation on waste. The European Federation of Public Service Unions pointed out that the project lacked a social dimension and that waste recycling workers are vulnerable in health and safety terms.
On 10 December, the Commission tabled a proposed regulation on batteries and battery waste (see EUROPE 12620/13) repealing and replacing the directive of 2006, which covered only end-of-life batteries. A low carbon footprint and, later, a minimum level of recycled content would henceforth guide battery production. Battery recycling also became a requirement. The objective was partly economic in nature: encouraging the production of green batteries produced in Europe. Having recently completed its journey through the Parliament and the Council, the regulation was adopted on 10 July 2023 (see EUROPE 13219/22).
22 February 2021 saw the launch of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency. The result of cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations, this alliance also counted some dozen third countries, both industrialised and developing (see EUROPE 12663/17). In August, the European Environment Agency published an interesting study on new waste, in other words waste from end-of-life clean energy infrastructure, whilst laying emphasis on the possibility of recycling materials from wind farms or photovoltaic panels (see EUROPE 12775/11).
On 23 September, the Commission proposed an amendment of the 2014 directive on radio-electric equipment, an initiative known more broadly by the name ‘universal charger’ for mobile telephones (see EUROPE 12797/1). There was little to no dawdling and the act was adopted jointly by the Parliament and the Council on 23 November 2022. It means that there will no longer be any need to buy new chargers for every new bit of kit, which will have the effect of reducing electronic waste and making life easier for consumers.
On 17 November, the institution tabled a proposed revision of the 2006 regulation on transfers of waste, with a view to putting a stop to mass exports of waste to developing countries, tackling illegal practices and encouraging recycling within the EU (see EUROPE 12834/3). The Parliament published its amendments in January of this year, but discussions at the Council are still underway.
The year 2020 will have been the most fruitful in terms of initiatives related to the circular economy. On 30 March, the highly anticipated strategy for the textiles industry was unveiled. The general objective for 2030 is to have only sustainable textiles on the market, made primarily from recycled fibres, containing no hazardous substances and manufactured in full respect of social rights: a revolution in its own right aiming to put an end to ‘fast fashion’ and give a shot in the arm to social recycling initiatives (see EUROPE 12922/2).
Additionally, a directive was proposed aiming to guarantee consumers’ rights to information on the life cycle and repairability of products (see EUROPE 12922/4). The necessary work is in train at the Council and the Parliament.
The same legislative package also featured a communication on “Making Sustainable Products the Norm” and, more importantly, a highly significant document: the proposed regulation establishing the framework to set ecodesign requirements for sustainable products (ESPR), repealing and replacing the existing directive. The text defines the word ecodesign as “the integration of environmental sustainability considerations into the characteristics of the product in the process taking place throughout the product’s value chain”. Eco-design requirement means “a performance requirement or an information requirement aimed at making a product more environmentally sustainable”. The ESPR is cross-cutting across all sectors. It will therefore apply to textiles and shoes, amongst other things. It will be inapplicable only in cases where sustainability requirements have already been set at a satisfactory level under EU legislation; furthermore, it does not exclude the possibility of specific legislation being concluded alongside.
Still looking at the package of 30 March, there is a further proposed regulation, setting out harmonised conditions for the sale of construction products (see EUROPE 12922/3), revising the 2011 regulation. Admittedly, the objective is to promote the circular economy in the sector by improving the quality and technical comparability of all these products, but it also aims to make the single market effective in these products. The respective positions of the Parliament and the Council have yet to be reached.
On the ‘ecodesign’ regulation, on the other hand, the ministers managed to conclude some very difficult discussions and arrive at a common position in May 2023, extending the application time frame and providing for exemptions (see EUROPE 13185/1). At its most recent plenary session, the European Parliament for its part approved the report supporting the project by a large majority, with emphasis on information for consumers and an immediate ban on destroying unsold textile products (see EUROPE 13222/4). Dialogue discussions may therefore begin this autumn.
But let us go back to 2022, as that does not quite conclude a whole range. In October, the Commission proposed a revision of the directives on the quality of ambient air and the treatment of urban wastewater. More importantly, on 30 November it unveiled its proposal on the reuse of packaging and preventing packaging waste (see EUROPE 13074/7). Readers may recall that a ‘packaging’ directive was adopted in May 2018, with a deadline for transposition into national legislation of July 2020. The current Commission had given up hope of seeing full implementation and decided to ‘crack the whip’ by means of a regulation, given the extremely disappointing situation at the time: in 2020, only 65% of packaging waste was being recycled. The aim in the short term was to reduce the quantity of packaging and, by 2030, to recycle it all. The legislative procedure under co-decision is only just out of the blocks.
On 22 March 2023, the institution tabled a further proposed directive, aiming to establish common rules to promote consumer rights for the ‘easy and attractive’ repair of faulty products (see EUROPE 13147/7). This is the second proposal in the space of just a few months giving conferring additional rights upon consumers, who are considered key players in the circular economy. The Parliament, which has long supported this state of affairs, lost no time in tackling the project. A report has already been approved by the parliamentary committee, on 18 July (see EUROPE 13225/12). Discussions are underway at the Council.
Finally, as recently as 13 July, a proposed regulation on the circularity of the automotive industry was published (see EUROPE 13222/16). Once again, a regulation will replace directives. The aim is to cover the entire life cycle of vehicles, with car bodies to be systematically recycled – as one would naturally expect.
Looking at this lengthy but non-exhaustive inventory, which speaks to the sense of urgency motivating its various initiators, we can see that slowly but surely, the pieces of the jigsaw are coming into place to create this famous circular economy in the EU in the medium term, as long as everybody plays the game.
We might also, if we look carefully, see the germ of a possible common lesson to humanity, which the United Nations may make official. If the circular economy sweeps the globe, future historians will one day identify a change on the same level as the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution. And no doubt Agence EUROPE will follow the story…
Renaud Denuit