On 15 June, the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee met to consider the draft reports on the waste legislative proposals by the Rapporteur Simona Bonafe (S&D, IT).
The draft report on the proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2008/98/EC contains 165 amendments. Inter alia the proposed amendments include:
- Increase of the recycling target for 2030 to 70% and keeping only one method for calculating the attainment of the recycling targets based on input into final recycling (re-use excluded);
- Introduction of a new recycling target for bio-waste of 65% by 2025, to be preceded by obligatory separate collection of bio-waste as of 2020;
- In addition, wood and textiles should also be separately collected. In the future, the Commission should examine the possibility of setting up preparing for re-use and recycling targets for commercial and industrial waste to be met by 2025 and 2030.
- The rapporteur enhanced the transparency of EPR schemes and the oversight as regards the implementation of the minimum requirements for EPR as well as introduced an obligation for Member States to ensure that any producer has extended responsibility and that EPR schemes are established at least for packaging, WEEE and batteries and accumulators. She also proposed a number of provisions as regards prevention with the aim of reducing overall waste generation as well as of food waste and land-based marine litter in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The draft report on the proposal for Directive amending Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste contains 63 amendments. The rapporteur proposed to increase overall targets for recycling of packaging waste to 70% in 2025 and to 80% in 2030 as well as to increase targets for material streams. The attainment of these targets should be calculated using one method based on input into final recycling. Re-use of packaging cannot be calculated as recycling but should be subject to new reuse targets: 5% by 2025 and 10% by 2030. Amendments also introduce obligation on the Commission to present proposals to strengthen enforcement, in particular for measures concerning non-recyclable packaging, packaging with hazardous substances, single-use packaging and excess packaging. Member States should take measures to encourage the use of bio-based packaging.