A new report from the European Parliament has called for clarity by enforcing the separate collection of paper, metal, plastics and glass for recycling.
Produced by Italian Socialist MEP Simona Bonafe, the rapporteur in the EU Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the report seeks to amend the rules currently provided by the Waste Framework Directive, Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and Landfill Directive.
As well as separate collection of core materials, the report also wants to see a ban on the landfilling of separated materials to prevent it ending up in an incinerator.
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There should also be a repair and recycling target of 70% in 2030 and 80% for packaging.
It also calls for food waste to be cut in half by 2030 and for less waste to be produced from commerce and service sectors.
In the report, amendments also suggest promotion of deposit schemes to encourage reuse of packaging such as bottles and more support for product repair.
Resource Association chief executive Ray Georgeson welcomed the proposed clarification of separate materials for collection that would also mean the removal of the rules that separate collection should occur when it is technically, environmentally and economically possible (TEEP).
He said: “It will be interesting to see the emerging debate about Amendment 109 that proposes the removal of the TEEP restrictions in the existing Article 11 provisions. The justification statement from the Committee is telling: ‘The introduction of technical, environmental and financial limits has allowed numerous exemptions, rendering application of this principle impossible’.
“We concur with this view and look forward to the next level of debate about this important element in the delivery of the circular economy – the best ways to provide consistent high quality materials to manufacturers and reprocessors, especially in the context of the move in England to encourage local authorities towards greater consistency in household recycling collections.”
