Circular Economy: European Commission proposes action to promote recycling in 18 member states at risk of failing to meet waste targets
In the Waste Early Warning Report, published June 8 by the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment, the European Commission identified a list of member states that may not meet the 2025 municipal and packaging waste reuse and recycling targets and the 2035 landfill targets. The nine EU member states that are expected to meet the 2025 target are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
However, 18 member states are at risk of not meeting one or two of the smaller 2025 targets. Of these, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are at risk of not meeting their municipal waste reuse and recycling targets. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia are at risk of not meeting the 2025 municipal and packaging waste reuse and recycling targets. And some countries continue to landfill a lot of municipal waste and may not meet the 2035 landfill target. Therefore, the committee made recommendations to these member countries that could enhance the effectiveness of waste management by providing continuous financial and technical support.
Gradual rise in garbage production
Every year, the average European generates 530 kg of municipal waste per person (waste from households and waste from businesses and the like). Despite the increasing recycling of municipal waste and the decreasing number of landfills, municipal waste is still the most difficult category of waste to dispose of.
In the EU, about 50% of municipal waste is recycled or composted, and 23% is landfilled. Whereas packaging waste generation has been steadily increasing, with the amount of packaging waste generated across the EU increasing by 15% between 2013 and 2020 to nearly 80 million tons, about 64% of packaging waste is now recycled, and this varies by material. More than 75% of paper, cardboard and metal packaging is recycled, while less than 40% of plastic is recycled - a problem in most EU countries, many of which are facing the result of potentially failing to meet packaging waste recycling targets for specific plastic materials.
Significant differences between member countries
The report shows that there are significant differences in waste management effectiveness across the EU. For some countries, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goals agreed in the EU legislation and more reforms are needed, in particular: to ensure the treatment of bio-waste, which accounts for one third of municipal waste; the separate collection of waste - a prerequisite for achieving recycling; and the improvement of the quality of waste treatment. However, most EU countries have introduced or are in the process of introducing waste reforms to increase recycling rates, and some of them should produce results in the next few years.
External factors have also affected the effectiveness of waste disposal, such as the reduction or discontinuation of separate collection in some countries due to the epidemic. And the recent spike in energy prices has also had a negative impact on recycling activities.
EU recommendations and support
The committee made specific recommendations for the 18 member countries that may not meet the main recycling targets for 2025. The recommendations cover a wide range of elements, such as reducing non-recyclable waste, increasing reuse, promoting separate collection, increasing the capacity to separate and recycle waste, improving governance, using economic instruments effectively, and raising awareness.
The Commission will continue to support Member States in the implementation of EU waste legislation through support from EU funds, technical assistance (e.g. through environmental implementation reviews, exchange of best practices, promotion of learning among Member States). However, it is the responsibility of national authorities to strengthen policy efforts and intensify action on the ground.
In addition, the committee has proposed initiatives that would be more conducive to economic recycling and help member countries improve waste management effectiveness and achieve their goals, such as proposals for new regulations on waste transportation, packaging and packaging waste, and eco-design of sustainable products.
Background
The DG Environment's "Early Warning Report" assesses the likelihood that member states will meet the 2025 recycling targets set out in the Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive: 55% recycling and municipal waste recycling; 65% packaging waste recycling; and material-specific packaging waste recycling targets (75% for paper and cardboard, 70% for glass, 70% for ferrous metal packaging, 50% for aluminum, 50% for plastics, and 25% for wood).
The report also provides a preliminary assessment of the goal of reducing the municipal landfill rate to less than 10% by 2035.
Like packaging waste, bio-waste management has become one of the main issues hindering the effectiveness of recycling, and the policy of separate collection of bio-waste has been applied since January 1, 2024.
The Early Warning report is based on an environmental implementation review that has already revealed problems with the implementation of EU waste legislation. Notably, there are still nearly 2,000 illegal or substandard landfills operating in the EU, a great source of pollution and greenhouse gases, which can also lead to missed opportunities for secondary recycling of raw materials.
