Circular Economy Package

The Circular Economy Package (CEP) comprises a 'Circular Economy Plan' and a 'Package of Measures' which is intended to drive greater circularity of products and materials. In a Circular Economy, the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible. Waste and resource use are minimised, and when a product reaches the end of its life, it is used again to create further value. This can bring major economic benefits, contributing to innovation, growth and job creation.

Context

The Circular Economy Package (CEP) comprises a 'Circular Economy Plan' and a 'Package of Measures' which is intended to drive greater circularity of products and materials. In a Circular Economy, the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible. Within the circularity discussions both 'Closed' and 'Open' loops are referred to:

• Closed Loop Recycling (where the recycled material is used to make another product in the same category i.e. plastic water bottles being used to make new plastic bottles)
• Open Loop Recycling (where recycled material is used in a different application in a different product i.e. plastic water bottles being used to make fleeces and sleeping bags)

EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy

In 2015, the European Commission adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Action Plan, which included measures to help stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy, boost global competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs.

The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy establishes a concrete and ambitious programme of action, with measures covering the whole circular economy cycle: from production and consumption; waste management; the market for secondary raw materials; and a revised legislative proposal on waste. The annex to the action plan sets out the timeline for when the actions will be completed. The proposed actions will contribute to "closing the loop" of product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use and bring benefits for both the environment and the economy.

The revised legislative framework on waste entered into force in July 2018. It sets clear targets for reduction of waste and establishes an ambitious and credible long-term path for waste management and recycling.

Key elements of the revised waste proposal include:

• A common EU target for recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035;
• A common EU target for recycling 70% of packaging waste by 2030;
• There are also recycling targets for specific packaging materials:
  • Paper and cardboard: 85 %
  • Ferrous metals: 80 %
  • Aluminium: 60 %
  • Glass: 75 %
  • Plastic: 55 %
  • Wood: 30 %
• A binding landfill target to reduce landfill to a maximum of 10% of municipal waste by 2035;
• Separate collection obligations are strengthened and extended to hazardous household waste (by end 2022), bio-waste (by end 2023), textiles (by end 2025).
• Minimum requirements are established for extended producer responsibility schemes to improve their governance and cost efficiency.
• Prevention objectives are significantly reinforced, in particular, requiring Member States to take specific measures to tackle food waste and marine litter as a contribution to achieve EU commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Final Circular Economy Package

On 4th March 2019, three years after its adoption, the Circular Economy Action Plan is fully completed. Its 54 actions have been delivered (although work on some of them continue beyond 2019).

On the same date the European Commission adopted a comprehensive report on the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan. The report presents the main achievements under the plan and sketches out future challenges to shaping our economy and paving the way towards a climate neutral circular economy where pressure on natural and freshwater resources as well as ecosystems is minimised.

2018 Circular Economy Package

The latest Circular Economy package involves:

• A Europe-wide EU Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy and annex to transform the way plastics and plastic products are designed, produced, used and recycled. By 2030, all plastics packaging should be recyclable. To achieve its ambitious vision, the Strategy foresees actions to improve the economics and quality of plastic recycling; to curb plastic waste and littering; to drive investments and innovation; and to harness global action. To reduce the leakage of plastics into the environment, the Commission has also adopted a new proposal on Port Reception Facilities, to tackle sea-based marine litter and published a report on the impact of the use of oxo-degradable plastic, including oxo-degradable plastic carrier bags, on the environment.
• A Communication on options to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation that assesses how the rules on waste, products and chemicals relate to each other.
• A Monitoring Framework on progress towards a circular economy at EU and national level. It is composed of a set of ten key indicators which cover each phase i.e. production, consumption, waste management and secondary raw materials, as well as economic aspects, investments and jobs and innovation.
• A Report on Critical Raw Materials and the circular economy that highlights the potential to make the use of the 27 critical materials in our economy more circular.

In 2018, the European Commission adopted other ambitious initiatives in the context of the Circular Economy Action Plan which were:

• A proposal for a Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment - implementation of the EU Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy. The Directive proposes different measures for specific items made of single use plastics taking into account consumer behaviour as well as consumer needs and opportunities for businesses. When alternatives are clearly available – both single use and multi-use ones – market restrictions are proposed. Other measures include appropriate labelling, awareness raising, voluntary actions, and the establishment of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes that would also cover the costs for the clean-up of litter.
• A proposal for a Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse - the proposal aims to boost the efficient, safe and cost-effective reuse of water for irrigation – a deliverable of the Circular Economy Action Plan.