Eunomia points to sequenced recycling targets

The need to sort out the large number of targets within a variety of EU waste regulations was highlighted to local authority officers this week at the annual Larac conference.

Held at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham and chaired by Joy Blizzard, the event heard opening speaker Dominic Hogg describe a long list of EU legislation which contained targets. This ranged from packaging waste through to the Landfill Directive with all the targets also sitting alongside the aspirational targets contained within the 2020 Roadmap.

Dr Hogg, who is head of the Eunomia consultancy, is charged by the European Commission with producing a report on how future EU targets and waste policy might be better delivered.

He explained that packaging targets were up for review in 2014 and again with the Landfill Directive, there is a review clause to examine targets by 16 July 2014.

Landfill performance, he said, is an area which is badly reported by member states, effectively there are 28 definitions of municipal waste.

Eunomia report

The work by Eunomia, with the support of some other consultancies, is seen as crucial in shaping future EU thinking on targets and Dr Hogg gave a small hint of what might be expected from the report in his presentation. This appeared to be that the report might come out in favour of a more common and defined reporting system for waste across the EU and also that targets would have to be reachable in an appropriate timeframe and make sense across the different pieces of legislation governing waste and recycling.

In terms of timeframes, Dr Hogg also appeared to suggest that 2025 might be the year for which some recycling targets are recommended. Referring to the possibility of higher household recycling targets of 70% and municipal of 75%, he said: Potentially we are looking out to 2025.

In terms of acceptance of targets, he noted that governments and their officials needed to have targets which were practical to reach.

Roadmap

Referring to the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, he said this contained a number of aspirational objectives for 2020 which are pretty challenging. The trajectory they are putting forward through the roadmap is pretty clear. It is moving waste up the hierarchy and as far as possible eliminating the landfilling of waste.

But, he continued, the suggestion that all the 2020 targets are possible to meet is somewhat over optimistic. They should be more appropriately sequenced.

And, he added that the reporting of waste data across Europe was one of the things that has leapt out at me. I have been to Lubliana in Slovenia and one of the things that leaps out at me is, that does it really have a 60% recycling rate for plastics, which is the best in Europe?

A consultation exercise for the report, said Dr Hogg, has recently concluded and 670 responses were received, 48% from citizens but only 7% from public authorities.

Among the responses was broad support for more common reporting on the packaging directive and the removal of the 80% recycling limit and that there should be an evening up of targets. He noted also that there was some interest in setting specific targets for household packaging.

And a staggeringly high number of people were in favour of targets for waste prevention, with strong support from public authorities. That the public authorities are much more in favour is not surprising, he said, as they want a bit of bite in waste prevention as they feel they are not getting enough support.