On Wednesday 18 February, the EU General Court dismissed the lawsuits brought by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries against the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system provided for in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, a decision welcomed by EurEau.
The lawsuits (Cosmetics Europe, EFPIA, etc.) seeking to overturn the establishment of the EPR system, which is designed to finance wastewater treatment, were all deemed inadmissible. The court ruled that companies, as legal entities, could not claim to be “individually affected” by the EPR and were therefore not entitled to challenge it. It also rejected the industry’s argument that the measure is discriminatory because it targets only two sectors.
EurEau points out that the revised directive introduces the obligation to treat urban wastewater to eliminate a wide range of micropollutants, which will entail additional costs. According to the organisation, pharmaceutical and cosmetics producers will have to bear at least 80% of the additional costs associated with treatments needed to eliminate these micropollutants. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)