The European Commission welcomes the agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council conciliation committee to increase the minimum recycling targets for packaging waste from 25 to 55 percent by 2008.
“I am happy that the agreement now opens the way for a substantial increase in the recycling of packaging waste. It will enable consumers to actively participate in recycling schemes and show their commitment to a more responsible management of packaging waste,” said Margot Wallström, the EU’s Environment Commissioner.
The agreement overcomes the last hurdles in a long debate on the revision of the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The final debate mainly focused on two issues: whether incineration of packaging waste should count as 'recovery' or not, and the deadline for Greece, Ireland and Portugal and accession countries to achieve the targets of the Directive.
Recent judgments by the European Court of Justice had clarified that incineration of municipal waste in incinerators is to be considered a disposal operation if the main purpose of the operation is to dispose of the waste. Recovery of the contained energy as heat or electricity would not change this classification. This also meant that packaging waste incinerated in such installations could no longer be counted for the recovery targets of the Packaging Directive.
Several Member States had used incineration as part of their strategy to fulfill the EU targets and were now faced with falling short of the targets under the new interpretation.
The solution found allows Member States to continue to count incineration for the EU targets but also foresees a general review of this issue in the framework of the EU Thematic Strategy on Waste Prevention and Recycling, which is in preparation.
In a compromise between the European Parliament and the Council, the deadline for Greece, Ireland and Portugal to achieve the targets has been set as 2011. This reduces the additional delay compared to the other 12 Member States from currently four to three years. The deadline for accession countries will be set under a new proposal that the Commission intends to issue shortly. With a view to the forthcoming accession, this will allow the new countries to fully participate in the decision making process on their transition periods.
The agreement by the conciliation committee now must be confirmed in third reading by Council and Parliament. The new Directive is likely to enter into force in early spring 2004 and will need to be transposed into national legislation by autumn 2005.
The commodities and the targeted levels are the following: Glass, 60 percent; paper, 55 percent; metals, 50 percent; plastics; 15 percent; and wood, 15 percent.