Politics

| The Metal Packaging and Recycling Industry, the Recycling Industry of bottom ash and the Waste-to-Energy sector jointly support the European Commission’s approach to boost quality recycling and markets for secondary raw materials in the Circular Economy Package.

| On 17 March, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal to revise the EU Fertilisers Regulation. FEAD submitted its preliminary comments on the proposal in the context of a stakeholder consultation conducted by the Commission.

| A plea for extended producer responsibility by Hermann Erdman, CEO of REDISA (Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa).

| According to BusinessWaste.co.uk, seven out of ten say they want private bin collections to replace council services.

| BIR commends this OECD guidance to developing countries that look to EPR as a ‘tax-free’ means to establish waste management and recycling.

| The BIR Paper Division has confirmed their panel of invited guest speakers that will provide delegates in Berlin with information of strategic importance in the framework of the current challenging business climate. Under the presidency of Reinhold Schmidt, Recycling Karla Schmidt, the divisional plenary session takes place on Tuesday, 31 May 2016 at 10.30 at the Berlin InterContinental Hotel.

| The European Plastics Converters (EuPC) in association with Polymer Comply Europe (PCE) held a REACH Workshop: The Plastics Industry State of play with practical examples on 17 and 18 March 2016 in Brussels.

| On March 18, the International Automobile Recycling Congress IARC 2016 in Berlin, Germany, came to an end. More than 220 representatives of the global automotive recycling sector had come together to discuss current political conditions and the latest trends in recycling technology.

| The circular economy’s time is now, not tomorrow. This was the key message of Euric’s first Annual Conference.

| Take-e-way, the German take-back system for electrical and electronic equipment take-e-way presents the online platform www.take-e-back.com for the take-back of waste devices by distributors according to the amended Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG/WEEE) to its customers.

| Eurostat has published the final figures for municipal waste collection and treatment in the EU in 2014.

| In its comments on the first draft of the Waste Treatment BREF (Best available techniques Reference document), FEAD is concerned about the emission levels.

| All kinds of questions regarding marine litter were on the agenda of PolyTalk 2016, a two day conference organised by PlasticsEurope in Brussels on 16-17 March.

| The Commission suggests policy measures to support the European steel sector to overcome its serious challenges, largely due to global overcapacity.