Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives 2008/98/EC on waste, 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, and 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment

The Union’s economy currently loses a significant amount of potential secondary raw materials which are found in waste streams. In 2011, total waste production in the EU amounted to approximately 2.5 billion tons. By way of example, only a limited share (40%) of the municipal waste generated in the Union was recycled, with the rest being landfilled (37%) or incinerated (23%) of which around 500 million tons could have been otherwise recycled or reused. The Union thus misses out on significant opportunities to improve resource efficiency and create a more circular economy leading to economic growth and jobs which in turn would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its dependency on imported raw materials.

The Union also faces an implementation gap amongst its Member States. In 2011, while six Member States landfilled less than 3% of their municipal waste, 18 lost resources by landfilling over 50%, with some exceeding 90% of landfilling. This shows large divergences in terms of waste management performances which need to be redressed as a matter of urgency.

This proposal responds to the legal obligation to review the waste management targets of three Directives: Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, and Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. In doing so, it addresses the above-mentioned situation in line with the objectives of the Resource Efficiency Roadmap and the 7th Environment Action Programme, including full implementation of the waste hierarchy in all Member States, decline in absolute and per capita waste generation and the development of a comprehensive strategy to combat unnecessary food waste, ensuring high quality recycling and the use of recycled waste as a major, reliable source of raw material for the Union, limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials, and limiting landfilling to non-recoverable waste. It also contributes to the implementation of the EU Raw Materials Initiative.

In addition, the proposal includes elements of simplification of the reporting requirements included in Directives 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, and 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators.

See also Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)397: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:397:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)208: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:208:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)209: Ex-post evaluation of five waste stream directives http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:209:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)210: Implementation plan http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:210:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)207: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:207:FIN

ESO: Background information: Environment: Higher recycling targets to drive transition to a Circular Economy with new jobs and sustainable growth http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-environment-higher-recycling-targets-to-drive-transition-to-a-circular-economy-with-new-jobs-and-sustainable-growth/

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