Zero Waste sustainable practices

Subject: Zero Waste sustainable practices

Plastics and packaging are increasingly becoming the main destroyer of our planet. Between 5 and 13 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea every year, and plastics are expected to outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050. The figures reveal an extremely worrying situation and action urgently needs to be taken. The key actions should include so-called soft measures focusing on raising public awareness and changing day-to-day behaviour. The Zero Waste movement, which encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused, is becoming increasingly influential. The goal is for no waste to be sent to landfills or incinerators. A good example is New Zealand, where more than half of the local communities have adopted Zero Waste as their waste management method, and New Zealand has become the first country in the world to adopt it as a national strategy, showing that change is possible. In the EU, too, there is growing awareness of this approach, but unfortunately it is happening too slowly. Zero Waste sustainable business practices, such as Zero Waste shops and hotels, are proving to be a good solution in tackling the packaging problem. Such practices have a positive impact on the behaviour of individuals and can significantly reduce the environmental burden of packaging and plastics.

Does the Commission intend to take action to help promote such Zero Waste sustainable practices, particularly in the form of financial incentives, which would help new sustainable businesses to grow?

Answer given by Mr Vella on behalf of the European Commission

(14 August 2018)

The recently revised EU Waste legislation (1) puts renewed emphasis on waste prevention. Its implementation will significantly strengthen the prevention of packaging and packaging waste, increase its re-use and recycling. The Commission has started examining the feasibility of reinforcing the Packaging Directive’s (2) ‘essential requirements’ that all packaging put on the EU market must meet, to make them more operational and drive prevention, reuse and recyclability of packaging.

The Plastic Strategy (3) has a specific axis on preventing plastic waste. Measures taken in its implementation such as possible restrictions on the use of intentionally added microplastics and oxo-degradable plastics under elaboration in the framework of REACH (4) will contribute to reducing leakage of microplastics into the environment.

The recent Commission Proposal for a directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environmen t (5) sets out measures to address single-use plastics, through bans of plastic in certain items, ambitious consumption reduction objectives, collection targets and eco-design measures, all instruments to contribute to a circular economy.

The strategy also provides for tools to create an enabling framework for investment and innovation for new approaches to help minimise plastic waste at source. In particular, ‘Driving innovation and investment towards circular solutions’ Horizon 2020 will, in the run up to 2020, provide EUR 100 million to financing priority measures, and the actions under the Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEIT) part are developing a new approach on plastics recyclable by design. The European Investment Bank and the LIFE Programme also support circular economy projects.

⋅1∙ Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, modified by Directive (EU) 2018/851 (OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109‐140)

⋅2∙ Directive 94/62/EC, OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10‐23

⋅3∙ COM(2018) 28 final

⋅4∙ Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals

Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC, OJ L 396, 30.12.2006 ⋅5∙ COM(2018) 340 final.