EU policy

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We work in Brussels, influencing European legislation from product design to waste disposal. We do so by bringing our experience on the ground to the European policy-making, and by bringing the vision developed at the EU level to the local level.

Waste Trade

For many years, mixed waste has been shipped from countries in the Global North to the Global South for treatment. It is now clear that these activities have severe consequences for people and the planet.

Residual Waste Cap

ZWE strongly advocates for a revision of the 10% landfill target, replacing it with 120 kilograms of residual waste per year per capita by 2030.

Material Recovery and Biological Treatment (MRBT)

ZWE proposes a new approach to the treatment of residual waste - Material Recovery and Biological Treatment (MRBT), a system that combines biological treatment with sorting equipment.

Food Waste

In the European Union, around 20% of the food produced is wasted. ZWE works to push the EU to adopt ambitious and binding measures regarding food waste, such as prevention targets.

Sustainable management of residuals

Energy recovery from waste through incineration (also known as Waste-To-Energy) undermines the efforts of the European Union to transition towards a circular and net-zero emissions economy.

Chemical Recycling

ZWE is engaging with many stakeholders to better understand the impacts of this new industrial “fix”, and warning against unnecessary distraction from a circular economy and zero waste approach to waste management.

A new narrative on recycling

Europe has decades-long experience in collection and recycling, being the global region with the highest amount of research on product design and waste management. Tapping into it is key to designing proper circular systems - and ZWE is committed to do just that.