A group of environmental lobby organisations has today (11 October) written to European government ministers – including the UK’s Secretary of State for Environment Andrea Leadsom – urging support for the EU’s proposed recycling targets to 2030.
The group, which includes the Green Alliance, Friends of the Earth Europe, Zero Waste Europe and Aldersgate Group has claimed that binding targets will bring ‘long-term certainty’ and create conditions that will ‘encourage concerted action’ from businesses and governments to improve recycling rates.
Green groups have appealed to European government ministers to support the targets set out in the EU’s Circular Economy package
The letter follows concerns that support for the EU Commission’s Circular Economy Package has waned from some European governments, after it was reported that Germany had called for targets to be dropped from the package.
The package includes proposals to update waste legislation to include a 65% by 2030 municipal waste recycling target. But, the German government is reported to have argued that a decision on a target should be delayed until a ‘feasible’ goal can be developed.
‘Ambition’
In the letter, the green groups wrote: “Binding and ambitious targets on recycling will bring long-term certainty, creating the conditions that will encourage concerted action from municipalities, regional and national authorities, businesses, NGOs, and others to improve recycling rates across Europe. These must be complemented with other measures, such as Eco-design standards, to reduce the amount of waste produced and support the creation of a market for secondary materials.
“It is of course important that these targets be based on good evidence and that a robust methodology for calculating recycling rates is agreed. But this must not be an excuse for deferring, or entirely avoiding setting binding 2030 targets.”
According to the groups, the case for adoption of the Circular Economy proposals remains ‘clear and compelling’, adding: “It is now important that the Council reaches a position which reflects its support for the circular economy, including binding and ambitious recycling targets.”
The appeal to UK ministers comes despite uncertainty over whether the UK will pursue the legislative changes set out in the Circular Economy Package due to its impending departure from the European Union.
Brexit
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Leaving the European Union David Davis told the House of Commons that the UK would trigger Article 50 – the legislative lever to effectively signal the beginning of the UK’s exit from the EU – by no later than March 2017.
Until Article 50 is set in motion the UK remains a full member of the Union, and will retain a seat at the negotiating table with regard to future EU legislation.
However, the UK’s potential adoption of any measures set out in the Circular Economy Package will be dependent on the deal negotiated between the UK and EU over trade links.
Last week, Defra minister Thérèse Coffey told a fringe session at the Conservative Party Conference that existing environmental laws derived from EU legislation are likely to remain in place in the medium term, stating that the EU Referendum offered ‘no mandate for big changes on environmental legislation’.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
