EU launches Circular Economy Action Plan

EU launches Circular Economy Action Plan
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The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan as an agenda for sustainable growth in the European Union. The European Commission reports that the new plan “aims to make [the EU’s] economy fit for a green future, strengthen [its] competitiveness while protecting the environment and give new rights to consumers. Building on the work done since 2015, the new plan focuses on the design and production for the circular economy, with the aim to ensure that resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.” 

“To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, to preserve our natural environment and to strengthen our economic competitiveness requires a fully circular economy,” says Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans. “Today, our economy is still mostly linear with only 12 percent of secondary materials and resources being brought back into the economy. Many products break down too easily, cannot be reused, repaired or recycled, or are made for single use only. There is a huge potential to be exploited both for businesses and consumers. With today’s plan we launch action to transform the way products are made and empower consumers to make sustainable choices for their own benefit and that of the environment.” 

The Circular Economy Action Plan presents measures to ensure the following:

• Make sustainable products in the EU: The European Commission will propose legislation on Sustainable Product Policy to ensure that products placed on the EU market are designed to last longer, are easier to reuse, repair and recycle and incorporate as much recycled material instead of primary raw material. Also, single-use materials will be restricted. 

• Empower consumers: Consumers will have access to reliable information on issues such as the reparability and durability of products to help them make environmentally sustainable choices. 

• Focus on sectors that use the most resources where potential for circularity is high: The European Commission aims to launch actions on a Circular Electronics Initiative to have longer product lifetimes for electronics scrap; add new regulatory framework for batteries and enhancing sustainability for circularity with batteries; placing new mandatory requirements on what is allowed with packaging in the EU market; adding mandatory requirements for recycled content in plastics; adding legislative initiatives on reuse of food; and adding a comprehensive strategy for sustainably built environment with buildings.

• Ensure less waste: The focus of the new plan will be on avoiding waste altogether and transforming it into secondary resources. 

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, announced that it is welcoming the European Union’s support for recyclers as laid out in the new Circular Economy Action Plan.

According to a news release from BIR, the Circular Economy Action Plan will benefit European member companies of BIR that are collecting, sorting and processing wastes in order to produce secondary raw materials. The new plan will also benefit companies providing services to recyclers as well as recycling machinery and equipment manufacturers.

The action plan supports reuse above recycling, according to BIR. Driving up the quality, durability and performance of goods will also support reuse, repair and refurbishment. Reuse and recycling will coexist, and end-of-life goods will be collected into recycling enterprises. BIR reports that the action plan “will deliver clean material loops, increase recycling capacity and get secondary raw materials to market,” which the association says is encouraging to ensure a “healthy future up to and beyond 2050.”

“The possibility of financial support to certain Member States through EU funds to build up high quality, high volume recycling value chains in the EU is very welcome, as will be the enforcement tools to drive reforms,” BIR states. “The action plan sets out a number of ways to ensure that substances of concern from products do not affect the secondary raw material, which should be welcomed by European recyclers. 

“However, the action plan does not foresee relieving recyclers of the economic burden of finding and decontaminating waste,” BIR adds. “Recyclers also welcome that the European Commission will assess the need to develop, union-wide, criteria for end-of-waste and byproducts.”

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Source: Recycling Today
EU launches Circular Economy Action Plan
<![CDATA[The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan as an agenda for sustainable growth in the European Union. The European Commission reports that the new plan “aims to make [the EU’s] economy fit for a green future, strengthen [its] competitiveness while protecting the environment and give new rights to consumers. Building on the work done since 2015, the new plan focuses on the design and production for the circular economy, with the aim to ensure that resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.” “To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, to preserve our natural environment and to strengthen our economic competitiveness requires a fully circular economy,” says Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans. “Today, our economy is still mostly linear with only 12 percent of secondary materials and resources being brought back into the economy. Many products break down too easily, cannot be reused, repaired or recycled, or are made for single use only. There is a huge potential to be exploited both for businesses and consumers. With today’s plan we launch action to transform the way products are made and empower consumers to make sustainable choices for their…