MEPs vote to restore original circular economy package recycling targets

The European Parliament has voted to restore the recycling targets for member states set out in the original incarnation of the Circular Economy Package tabled in 2014.

The votes means by 2030, at least 70% by weight of so-called municipal waste (from households and businesses) should be recycled or prepared for reuse, (ie, checked, cleaned or repaired), say MEPs.

The European Commission proposed a target of 65% after a second version of the Circular Economy Package, originally tabled in 2014, dropped this from 70%.

For packaging materials, such as paper and cardboard, plastics, glass, metal and wood, MEPs propose an 80% target for 2030, with interim 2025 targets for each material.

According to 2014 figures, the current combined rate of EU member states is 44%.

Lead MEP, Simona Bonafè, (S&D, IT), said: “Today, Parliament by a very large majority has showed that it believes in the transition towards a circular economy. We decided to restore the ambitious recycling and landfill targets in line with what the Commission had originally proposed in 2014.

“Demand for raw materials by the world economy could increase by a further 50% in the next 15 years. In order to reverse this trend, we must adopt a circular development model which keeps materials and their value in circulation, the only solution able to keep together sustainability with economic growth.

“Re-use, recycling and recovery are becoming the key words around which a new paradigm needs to be built to promote sustainability, innovation and competitiveness, so that waste will cease to be a problem and become a resource.”