04Jul

European Union publishes Circular Economy package

Posted on 4th July, 2018

The EU’s Circular Economy Package will come into force from Wednesday (4 July) after the new legislation was published in the EU’s Official Journal last month.

This comes following the EU Council’s decision in May this year to formally adopt the package. This means it will be mandatory for member states to meet recycling targets for municipal waste of 55% by 2025 and 65% by 2035. This compares to a target of 50% by 2020, that the UK government and local authorities are currently working towards.

Post-Brexit, the UK government has signalled that the Circular Economy measures will be adopted within UK legislation at a later date, which includes requirements for ‘separate’ collections of textiles and hazardous waste by 1 January 2025. In addition, it will be compulsory to ensure bio-waste is collected either separately or recycled at source by 31 December 2023.

The Journal read: “The general minimum requirements should reduce costs and boost performance, as well as ensure a level playing field and avoid obstacles to the smooth functioning of the internal market. Overall, those requirements should improve the governance and transparency of extended producer responsibility schemes and reduce the possibility of conflicts of interest emerging between organisations implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers of products and waste operators that those organisations contract.”

More information on the EU Waste Legislative Package can be downloaded here.