Recommendation on monitoring of commercial and industrial waste

Dear Permanent Representative to the European Council,

The signatories to this document put forward a joint recommendation for the inclusion of an amendment to the Waste Framework Directive and Landfill Directive which will require the measurement and monitoring of waste from commercial and industrial sources, in order to ensure that all waste types generated in a Member State are known and treated in accordance with the requirements of European legislation on waste.

Several amendments were tabled in Parliament to this effect, included in annex to this letter, and of those in its Plenary Session on 14 March 2017, the European Parliament adopted the following amendment which we support and propose that the Council also includes in Art. 11.4a of the Waste Framework Directive:

The Commission shall examine the possibility of setting preparing for re-use and recycling targets that apply to commercial waste, non-hazardous industrial waste and other waste streams to be met by 2025 and 2030. To that end, by 31 December 2018, the Commission shall draw up a report, accompanied by a legislative proposal, if appropriate, which shall be sent to the European Parliament and the Council.

In order to be complete, we propose that the Council agrees this modified article in place of the above:

The Commission shall examine the possibility of setting preparing for re-use and recycling targets as well as landfill reduction targets and restrictions that apply to commercial waste, non-hazardous industrial waste and other waste streams to be met by 2025 and 2030. To that end, by 31 December 2018, the Commission shall draw up a report, accompanied by a legislative proposal, if appropriate, which shall be sent to the European Parliament and the Council.

In addition to this, we propose that a requirement is included in Art.37 (Reporting) that commercial and industrial waste holders report the types and volumes of waste they generate and send to recycling, incineration, co-incineration or landfill annually, to the national level. This will increase transparency on all waste flows generated thereby improving accessibility of recyclable waste to the recycling industry and enabling the circular economy to be created.

This could be worded as follows:

‘All sectors, including municipalities, commercial and industrial entities will report their total annual generation of waste to the national level, also specifying the quantities and waste types sorted for recycling, sent to incineration, co-incineration or landfill. The national authorities will communicate this data to Eurostat on an annual basis.’

In its Plenary Session on 14 March 2017, the European Parliament adopted the following amendment which we support and propose that the Council also includes in Art. 5(7) of the Landfill Directive:

By 31 December 2018 at the latest, the Commission shall examine the possibility to introduce a target and restrictions to the landfilling of non-hazardous waste other than municipal waste. To this end, a report of the Commission accompanied by a legislative proposal, if appropriate, shall be sent to the European Parliament and the Council.

Thanking you for your consideration of these key points,

Vanya Veras, Secretary General, Municipal Waste Europe

Ella Stengler, Secretary General, Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants

Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General, EURIC

Jeremy Wates, Secretary General, European Environmental Bureau

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