EU member states Tuesday approved new rules that will prevent waste and, where this is not possible, significantly step up recycling of municipal and packaging waste, the European Commission said in a press release.
"The new legislation strengthens the 'waste hierarchy,' i.e. it requires Member States to take specific measures to prioritize prevention, re-use and recycling above landfilling and incineration, thus making the circular economy a reality," it added.
The new recycling targets for all packaging waste will 65% by 2025 and 70% by 2030 while for for municipal waste will be 55% by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.
The rules were part of a package of legislative proposals on waste that the European Commission adopted on December 2, 2015 as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan.
In a press release, the European Aluminum association said that "Europe now has the framework to make the Circular Economy really work, after the Council of Ministers has voted for the amended Waste Directives of the Package."
The association highlighted that aluminum industry was already contributing to the European circular economy, with recycling rates of over 90% in transport and building and over 60% in packaging.
The new rules approved set the new recycling targets for aluminum packaging waste at 50% by 2025 and 60% by 2030.
"Europe should promote the use of innovative sorting and separation technologies and make funding and other financial incentives available to all materials, not only to plastics," European Aluminum's Director General Gerd Goetz said.
"This would improve the uptake of used materials in Europe and reduce scrap leakage to third countries, certainly if waste exporters have to prove that the recycling is performed under the same environmental, health and safety conditions as in Europe. The latter should be addressed in the upcoming revision of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation," he continued.
European Aluminum in its press release encouraged the EU Commission to set a recycling target for construction and demolition waste before 2024 as well.
"On top, Europe should further clarify the proposed harmonized reporting of national recycling statistics including the quantities of metals recycled from incinerator-bottom ash," it concluded.
