Briefing 
 

Circular economy: MEPs to call for tighter EU consumption and recycling rules 

Parliament will debate and vote on the principles and policy needed to achieve a carbon-neutral, sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050.

The debate will take place on Monday, and the vote on the report, adopted by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on 27 January, is scheduled for Tuesday, with results announced on Wednesday morning.


MEPs emphasise that the current linear “take-make-dispose” economy must be transformed into a truly circular economy. They call for binding 2030 targets to reduce the footprint created by the use and consumption of materials, covering the whole lifecycle of each product category placed on the EU market. They also call on the Commission to propose product-specific and/or sector-specific binding targets for recycled content. Other key proposals are detailed here.


Context


In March 2020, the Commission adopted a new “Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe”. A debate in the Environment Committee took place in October.


Up to 80% of the environmental impact of products is determined when they are being designed. The global consumption of materials is expected to double in the next forty years, while the amount of waste generated every year is projected to increase by 70% by 2050. Half of total greenhouse gas emissions, and more than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress, come from extracting and processing resources.


Procedure: own initiative report

2020/2077(INI)

Debate: Monday, 8 February,

Vote: Tuesday 9 February, result Wednesday 10 February