With great majority, the members of the European Parliament adopted the report of the ENVI Committee on the waste legislative proposals in the Plenary on 14 March 2017. This vote will pave the way towards a Circular Economy by strengthening the waste hierarchy and mandating separate collection of bio-waste across Europe.
By and large, the ENVI report was adopted with additional amendments giving a clear signal towards high quality recycling. Besides the inclusion of a definition for organic recycling and the obligation for separate collection of bio-waste, the amendment on setting up quality assurance schemes for bio-waste management by Member States will improve sustainable bio-waste management in Europe by producing high quality recycled products for the European market.
The adopted text on the waste proposal includes the following:
- 70 % target for recycling of municipal waste with a 5 % of that waste to be prepared for reuse by 2030;
- Mandatory separate collection for the main waste streams, including bio-waste;
- Limitation to incinerate separately collected waste;
- Use of regulatory and economic instruments in order to incentivise the uptake of secondary raw materials.
The European Compost Network congratulates the European Parliament, especially the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs for this great work and step forward towards a Circular Economy. We hope that in the further negotiation process, the Council will endorse this good and comprehensive proposal of the European Parliament.