EU members face infringement procedure over missed collection, recycling targets

The European Commission has decided to open an infringement procedure by sending letters of formal notice to each of its 27 members for failing to meet waste collection and recycling targets.

Based on the latest available data reported European Union members, the commission says all have failed to meet several waste collection and recycling targets laid down under current EU legislation.

Each country now will have two months to respond and address the issues raised by the commission. If responses are deemed unsatisfactory, the commission may issue a reasoned opinion urging those countries to comply with EU law. If issues remain unresolved after that, the commission may bring matters before the Court of Justice of the EU.

The Waste Framework Directive sets legally binding targets for preparing for reuse and recycling of municipal waste. The commission notes that Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden failed to meet the 50 percent target for 2020 of preparing for reuse and recycling of municipal waste, such as paper, metal, plastic and glass.

Additionally, the commission points to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, which applies to all packaging distributed within the European market and any resulting packaging waste, regardless of where it is used. By Dec. 31, 2008, the directive required that between 55 percent and 80 percent of all packaging scrap needed to be recycled, and the established recycling goals for various materials included 60 percent for glass; 60 percent for paper and cardboard; 50 percent for metals; 22.5 percent for plastics; and 15 percent for wood. The commission says many of those targets were missed.

The commission also has cited its members for failing to meet targets set under its Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), which requires the separate collection and proper treatment of WEEE. The minimum collection rate to be achieved by member states was set at 65 percent of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in the three preceding years in each member state, or, alternatively, 85 percent of WEEE generated on the territory of that member state.

“Member states should boost their implementation efforts in order to meet the abovementioned obligations,” the commission says in its filing, adding that members could rely on the country-specific recommendations outlined in the 2023 Waste Early Warning Report. “This will also help member states to meet the forthcoming targets of 2025, 2030 and 2035, established by the recent amendments of the EU waste legislation,” the commission says.