EU looks at food waste for animal feed

And, the internal Commission document confirms that new legislation will stagger recycling targets across Member States.

Food waste is an area of focus for the Commission and it is examining how to achieve more consistent monitoring of food waste levels across the EU.

Some of the draft proposals on food waste may be of concern to the anaerobic digestion sector, with the Commission also seeking to clarify EU policy on the donation of food waste for consumption and a review of ‘best before’ labels. Measures to encourage the use of food waste for animal feed may also feature in the strategy.

Reuse

The Commission is also looking at the inclusion of reuse of products in the measurement of recycling rates, in order to encourage a greater level of reuse.

New recycling targets are likely take into account the varying economic and environmental conditions across the European Union, because Member States such as Malta are almost certain to miss the 50% by 2020 recycling target, with a current recycling rate of around 11%, while nations such as the Netherlands will exceed 50% recycling.

The package will also promote economic instruments such as wider establishment in Europe of a tax regime to deter landfilling of waste – as in effect in the UK – or the introduction of pay-as-you-throw schemes.

Overall the memo suggests that the Commission will be seeking to encourage a move away from landfill, with a greater focus on recovery of the energy content from non-recyclable waste and new landfill sites to be funded ‘only in exceptional cases’.

Plastics

The Commission is also likely to seek to reduce the overall volume of plastic waste that is going to energy from waste (EfW) outlets – with an ‘integrated strategy’ for the material to be drawn up by 2017, with the aim of addressing the challenges linked to the different types of plastics on the market (see letsrecycle.com story).

Other measures discussed include the development of quality standards for materials such as plastics, as a means of boosting demand for secondary raw material.

Overall the package looks set to focus on the ‘whole product cycle’, rather than simply a focus on waste legislation.