Circular Economy Takes A Step Towards Fruition

Economy

Circular Economy Takes A Step Towards Fruition

The European Commission had adopted a controversial package of proposed measures, known as the Circular Economy, in December 2015.

Since then, a particularly notable step was taken on 14 March 2017, when Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted to demand that the share of waste in the EU should be recycled up to 70% by 2030, from the current figure of 44% under the draft legislation that has been proposed by the European Commission.

On March 14, an MEP, Simona Bonafè, proclaimed, "Today, Parliament has shown by a very large majority that it believes in the transition towards a circular economy. We decided to restore the ambitious recycling and landfill targets in line with what the Commission had originally proposed in 2014".

She went on to say that "demand for raw materials by the world economy could increase by a further 50% in the next 15 years. In order to reverse this trend, we must adopt a circular development model which keeps materials and their value in circulation, the only solution able to keep together sustainability with economic growth".

According to MEP Bonafè, re-use, recycling and recovery are fast becoming the key words, so that waste will cease to be a problem and instead become a resource. By 2030, at least 70% by weight of so-called municipal waste (from households and businesses) should be recycled or prepared for re-use, (i.e. checked, cleaned or repaired), say MEPs. The European Commission had proposed 65%.

For packaging materials, such as paper and cardboard, plastics, glass, metal and wood, MEPs demanded an 80% target for 2030, with interim 2025 targets for each material. The issues voted through on 14 March 2017 represent the European Parliament's negotiating position, ahead of negotiations with the EU Council of Member State ministers, which has yet to adopt its own position.