The review of the European Union’s key waste targets: ACR+ Position

ACR+ agrees with the need to clarify the EU targets concerning waste prevention and management

ACR+ supports the opinion adopted by the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR), in which it proposes to introduce ambitious and binding new targets on waste production, collection, treatment and recycling.

The CoR proposal includes:

• reducing 2010 levels of waste by 10% by 2020
• exploring options to raise the recycling target of solid municipal waste to 70% by 2025,
• ensuring that 100% of waste is subject to selective sorting by 2020
• exploring options to raise targets for recycling plastics to 70% and for glass, metal, paper, cardboard and wood to 80%
• prohibiting the landfill of biodegradable waste by 2020  banning the incineration of recyclable waste (including biowaste) by 2020

In support of the above proposal, ACR+ would like to address the following key messages:

• A waste hierarchy without targets is problematic at the implementation level. Targets are essential in waste policies, whether they are national, regional or local.
• An efficient 5-level waste hierarchy requires targets for each of the 5 levels
• It is not recommended:
• - that Member States have the choice between 4 different calculation methodologies for the targets fixed by the Waste Framework Directive;
• - that the “preparing for reuse” target is integrated into the recycling target;
• - that existing recycling data management are not coordinated, systematic and consistent.

Standards, definitions and data collection:

• There is a real need for the standardisation of measurement and definitions of waste across the EU, which will allow for clear benchmarking with the involvement of local and regional authorities.
• A clear distinction should be made between the data on quantities of materials effectively recycled and the data on materials recovered through collection.
• ACR+ strongly believes that a European platform is needed to support information exchange and development of best practice across the EU.

Targets:

• Consistency between the different targets laid down in the European legislation should be ensured.
• The 50 % municipal waste recycling target rate should be increased. Furthermore, a target by specific waste stream, at least for paper, plastic, wood and metal is needed with a single/unique calculation methodology.
• Awareness should be raised on the quality of secondary raw materials coming from recycling process.

Packaging waste:

• Packaging materials, as non-renewable resources, are to be drastically reduced with a particular emphasis on plastic bags and other plastic packaging, as well as on all the less environmentally performing packaging materials (based on LCT/LCA). Single-use carrier plastic bags should not be free of charge.

Bio-waste:

• A specific bio-waste target is needed, with a specific emphasis on food waste. Losses are known to appear at all stages of the food chain including a considerable amount by those actors who produce municipal waste. Therefore, basing on baseline data and research, a min. 50% reduction target of food waste arising in municipal waste should be achievable at EU level.
• A specific target for biowaste recovery is also needed to orientate the organization of organic waste selective collection and/or management by local and regional authorities.

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