European Parliament votes on waste legislation

European Bioplastics (EUBP), the Berlin-based association representing the bioplastics industry in Europe, says it has congratulated the European Parliament's Environment Committee and rapporteur Simona Bonafè on their efforts and the results of the late January 2017 vote on waste legislation proposals concerning the EU Circular Economy Package. 

The positive vote of the members of Parliament results in amendments of the Waste Framework Directive that will help to ensure a separate collection of biowaste across Europe facilitated by certified collection tools, such as compostable biowaste bags, EUBP says.

“The amendments ensure that the potential of biowaste as a valuable resource can be tapped through organic recycling and will provide an important boost to the secondary resource and products market within the European Union,” says François de Bie, EUBP chairman.

European Parliament also voted to exclude mechanically or organically recyclables from landfills, supported a definition that confirms byproducts not to be waste and introduced a food waste definition and a food waste prevention hierarchy.

Regarding the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, EUBP says “the adoption of the amendment encouraging the use of biobased resources for the production of packaging is a first important milestone that concretely links the concepts of circular economy and bioeconomy,” adding that biobased mechanically and organically recyclable plastics lower carbon emissions, help to reach recycling quotas and keep valuable secondary raw materials and renewable carbon in the loop.

"The European Parliament just took a big step towards reducing our dependency on fossil resources and driving the transition to a low-carbon, bio-based economy, de Bie says. “This can only be tackled step by step in the next years via a concerted effort from all relevant stakeholders.”