Politics
Single-use plastics: New EU rules to reduce marine litter
| With the amount of harmful plastic litter in oceans and seas growing ever greater, the European Commission is proposing new EU-wide rules to target the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe's beaches and seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear.
China: high-grade PET does not need license
| BIR has received information that the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment has officially replied to the General Office of the General Administration of Customs, confirming that the import of high-grade PET as ordinary goods is allowed and in accordance with general trade regulation.
Renewable energy proposal boycotts circular economy
| As the European Parliament and Member States gear up for the next negotiations on May 17th, the Council’s latest position promote the inclusion of...
EEB: EU budget lacks ambition to address climate challenges and sustainability
| The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) warns that the EU budget proposal does not go far enough to bring down carbon emissions, reverse biodiversity loss or mainstream sustainability.
Stadler calls for collection uniformity
| Local authorities need to agree a uniform approach to waste collection and agree the end of co-mingled recycling if ambitious new EU targets are to be met. That’s the view of international sorting system specialist, Stadler Engineering, after the European Parliament voted in favour of revised of recycling targets for EU countries.
FEAD: Voluntary industry agreements not sufficient
| FEAD members welcome the publication of the draft own-initiative report on a European strategy for plastics in a circular economy by rapporteur MEP Mark Demesmaeker as a step forward for designing a new vision for plastics as part of the transition to a circular economy.
Bio-waste sector ready to act
| The European Compost Network welcomes the adoption of the Circular Economy Package by the European Parliament.
EU paves way for stronger and more competitive circular economy
| The waste package that was officially adopted by the Parliament promises higher recycling targets and a more level playing field for the waste market.
The Circular Economy Package is approved, now it is time to make it real
| The European Parliament has given today the final green light to the Circular Economy Package, thus approving the Waste Framework Directive, the Landfill Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, four years after the first Circular Economy Package was tabled.
FEAD welcomes Circular Economy Package
| Following the adoption by the European Parliament of the final agreement on the Circular Economy Package, FEAD members welcome the progress made to pave the way for the transition to a circular economy.
EEB warns of weakened guidelines for waste incineration
| A three-year process to update EU environmental standards for waste incineration plants could be about to lead to new rules that most currently operating facilities already comply with. According to a report by the EEB, the latest draft even weakens some key protections compared to existing guidelines.
APEAL welcomes formal adoption of circular economy package
| “Whilst the final formal endorsement will take place 22nd - 23rd May by the Ministers at Council level, the adoption of the CEP today in Strasbourg is an important milestone, a highlight of the current mandate,” said Alexis Van Maercke, secretary general of APEAL.
Increasing amounts of plastics found in biowaste
| This critical issue was addressed at the Kasseler Abfall- und Ressourcenforum 2018. The event hosted a meeting of representatives from the national composters associations of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, the four countries with the most extensive and best-established separate organic waste collection systems in Europe.
Behaviour change needs strong legislative framework and viable alternatives
| On 10 April the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a hearing on the EU Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy in Brussels.
