The Barroso Commission put forward an initial circular economy package in July 2014, but the current Commission withdrew the legislative proposal on waste, in order to make way for new, 'more ambitious'  proposals. On 2 December 2015, as part of its new Circular Economy Package, the European Commission submitted a proposal amending the 1994 Directive on packaging and packaging waste. The proposal responds to a legal obligation to review, by 2012, the targets set in the legislation.

Packaging waste in the EU, measured by weight, is made up of paper and cardboard (40%), glass (20%), plastic (19%), wood (15%) and metal (6%), according to Eurostat data. In 2013, 65% of packaging was recycled in the EU-28, although material-specific recycling rates varied a great deal:  85% for paper and cardboard packaging; 74% for metallic packaging; 73% for glass packaging; 36% for wooden packaging and 37% for plastic packaging. There are wide variations in recycling rates for specific packaging materials across Member States.

The proposal amending the Packaging Directive sets new targets to be met by 2025 and 2030 for the share of packaging waste prepared for reuse and recycling (65%  and 75%, respectively),  with specific targets for various packaging materials (plastic, wood, ferrous metal, aluminium, glass, paper and cardboard).  Although no 2030 target is proposed for plastic packaging, the Commission may propose one at a later stage, based on a review of progress towards the target, the evolution of the plastic packaging market and the development of recycling technologies. The proposal aligns definitions with other legislative acts, introduces an early warning system for monitoring progress towards the targets, clarifies methods used to calculate progress towards targets, simplifies and streamlines Member States' obligations as regards reporting,  and  improves the quality and  reliability  of statistics.

The proposal is expected to deliver economic and environmental benefits. According to the Commission, the four legislative proposals put forward in the package would create over 170 000 direct jobs in the EU by 2035; avoid greenhouse gas emissions (over 600 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent between 2015 and 2035); increase the competitiveness of the EU waste management, recycling and manufacturing sectors; reduce the dependency of the EU on raw material imports; and reduce the administrative burden. In addition, the proposals would reduce the impacts on environment and human health described earlier.

However, the proposals would also generate costs – according to some estimations, the cost of creating a fully efficient reuse and recycling system in the EU could amount to up to €108 billion. Theses cost would most likely fall on public authorities, businesses and, ultimately, consumers.

The European Parliament adopted its first reading position on 14 March 2017. Its main features include:

• raising the ambition level of targets for packaging waste, with separate targets for reuse (5% by 2025 and 10% by 2030) and recycling (70% by 2025 and 80% by 2030), and introducing a single calculation method;
• strengthening the implementation of the waste hierarchy;
• making extended producer responsibility schemes mandatory for packaging;
• requiring separate collection for all packaging materials;
• highlighting the need for a more circular economy and listing possible policy instruments to promote a transition;
• requiring action from the Commission, in particular examining reviewing the directive on packaging waste (by 2024).

The Council adopted its general approach on 19 May 2017. Although the Council position has not been made public, press reports suggest it proposed to lower the ambition level of the targets.

On 18 December 2017, the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the proposal. Its mean features include:

• modifying the targets for the recycling of all packaging waste (70 % by 2030) and the material-specific targets while introducing the possibility of derogations  for Member States;
• making extended producer responsibility schemes mandatory for all packaging by end-2024;
• requiring the Commission to consider, by end-2020, strengthening essential requirements for extended producer responsibility schemes (with a view to improving design for re-use and high quality recycling); and by end-2024, setting quantitative targets on packaging reuse and reviewing targets for packaging waste recycling.

The final act was signed by the presidents of the co-legislators on 30 May 2018. It was published in the Official Journal as Directive (EU) 2018/852. Member States are required to transpose the directive into national law by 5 July 2020.

References:

• Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste
• Directive (EU) 2018/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste
• Eurostat, Data on packaging waste, website

Further reading:

• European Parliament, EPRS, Circular economy package: Four legislative proposals on waste, Briefing, July 2018
• European Parliament, EPRS, Circular economy: Revision of waste legislation, Briefing Implementation Appraisal, March 2016
• European Parliament, EPRS, Circular economy 1.0 and 2.0: A comparison, At a glance, January 2016
• European Parliament, EPRS, Closing the loop: New circular economy package, Briefing, January 2016
• European Parliament, EPRS, Turning waste into a resource - Moving towards a circular economy, Briefing, December 2014

Author: Didier Bourguignon, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

Visit the European Parliament homepage on circular economy