Last month the Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans revealed that the policy package drawn up by the former Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik would be withdrawn, in favour of a ‘more ambitious’ set of proposals (see letsrecycle.com story).
The decision was met with concern from some corners of the waste industry and environmental campaigners, who wanted Dr Potocnik’s proposals, which included plans to introduce a 70% by 2030 recycling target, to remain on the table.
Since the announcement, uncertainty has shrouded the Commission’s plans for the future of waste legislation – with little information available on the likely timetable and scope for the new proposals. Industry commentators claimed that the withdrawal of the package would ‘raise more questions than it answers’.
However, the Commission has now offered some clarity on how it plans to shape the new regulations, adding that it will look to broaden the scope beyond waste, as well as confirming that the proposals will be published in 2015.
Objectives
Confirming the plans for the circular economy package to letsrecycle.com, a spokeswoman for the Commission, said that the new proposals would cover: “A strategy on waste that takes better into account the variety of situations across Member States and focuses on achievable objectives and their effective implementation on the ground.”
On the ‘increased ambition’ promised by Mr Timmermans, the spokeswoman added that the proposals would not only address waste, adding that the package would address: “…other aspects of the value chain to ‘close the loop’ of the circular economy, for example by addressing recycling in product design and creating a market for secondary raw material.”
She concluded that this would constitute “A policy that actively supports the creation and development of new business opportunities and sustainable growth.”
The development of the new proposals will be closely monitored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England, which had opposed the introduction of a higher target for recycling – expressing doubts over whether a 70% goal can be achieved.
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