Europe needs legally binding targets to drive progress in bio-waste collection and recycling 

Brussels, 6 February, 2025 – Europe’s bio-waste management systems are falling short due to a host of reasons, which includes the lack of binding targets, according to a new guidance document released today by the LIFE BIOBEST consortium.

The document, entitled, “Comprehensive Guidance for effective bio-waste management in the EU” points towards the need to realign economic incentives, monitor bio-waste quality and quantity, and promote a reliable market for compost and digestate. Integral to the success of these issues are the pending performance targets for the quality and quantity of bio-waste .

This supports the obligation as outlined in Article 22 of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), which requires all EU Member States to either separately collect bio-waste or apply home composting solutions. However, the WFD does not specify any legally binding targets like those that exist for other waste streams,resulting in a weak incentive for local authorities to invest in efficient bio-waste solutions. 

This has led to the adoption of under-performing bio-waste separate collection systems across and within Member States. Following the one-year anniversary of the EU’s mandatory bio-waste collection policy, data by Zero Waste Europe and Bio-based Industries Consortium revealed that 74% of kitchen waste in the EU still ends up in landfills or incinerators – amounting to 45 million tonnes of kitchen waste that is not being properly managed. While this has brought bio-waste management into the spotlight, it serves as a reminder of the urgent need for strong EU policies to improve the efficiency of bio-waste management and its recycling into high-quality compost and digestate.

This new guidance document proposes a set of policy recommendations to support legally binding targets that will boost the adoption and monitoring of effective models for bio-waste management and develop a reliable market for compost and digestate. Proposed targets include limiting bio-waste in residual waste, setting impurity thresholds to ensure high-quality recycling, and introducing residual waste reduction targets. The LIFE BIOBEST consortium urges the EU to incorporate these targets into future revisions of the WFD, in coordination with the proposed Circular Economy Act. 

The document challenges existing reporting requirements for compositional assessments of bio-waste and bio-waste in residual waste and  a standardised methodology. These recommended updates will cover a significant knowledge gap regarding the efficiency of schemes and the quality of collected bio-waste.

Manon Jourdan, Implementation Officer at Zero Waste Europe, states:

“We’re flying aimlessly when it comes to understanding how well bio-waste systems are working. Without detailed and up-to-date information – such as clear rules for checking what’s in our residual waste, or on the amount of impurities in separately collected bio-waste– we will not be able to effectively fix the issue. Stronger reporting requirements and regular annual updates are essential to ensure every country is on track and to improve bio-waste management across the EU.”

ENT Foundation, project coordinators,  state:

“With effective economic instruments in place, bio-waste management will be more cost effective and will cover the costs of the monitoring and characterisation activities.”

Steffen Walk, Scientific Officer at ECN, states: 

“Implementing unified monitoring methodologies to assess bio-waste management performance is crucial for effectively tracking progress towards achieving EU-wide bio-waste targets.”

This document is the final guidance in a series of publications from the LIFE BIOBEST consortium aimed at best practices around bio-waste management.

ENDS 

Notes to the editor

• LIFE BIOBEST’s “Guiding the mainstreaming of best bio-waste recycling practices in Europe: D5.4: Comprehensive guidance for effective bio-waste management in Europe”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/comprehensive-guidance-for-effective-bio-waste-management-in-the-eu/ 

Links to the previous guidelines in the series:

• “Guideline on the separate collection of bio-waste”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/guideline-on-the-separate-collection-of-bio-waste/   
• “Guideline to promote quality compost and digestate”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/guideline-to-promote-quality-compost-and-digestate/   
• “Guideline on governance and economic incentives”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/guideline-on-governance-and-economic-incentives    
• “Country Factsheets on the analysis of communication and engagement practices”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/country-factsheets-on-the-analysis-of-communication-and-engagement-practices  

The LIFE BIOBEST project, funded by the European Union, brought together experts from the Consorzio Italiano Compostatori (CIC), Fundació ENT, European Compost Network (ECN), and Zero Waste Europe (ZWE). This project runs for 30 months, now in its 18th month.  These guidelines have been created six months after the mandatory separate collection of bio-waste had come into force to offer strategic and practical approaches to effective bio-waste management.

For more information and to download the guidelines, visit the LIFE BIOBEST project website at www.lifebiobest.eu.

ABOUT THE PARTNERS 

ACR+ is the Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management. We are an international network of cities and regions sharing the aim of promoting a sustainable resource management and accelerating the transition towards a circular economy on their territories and beyond. www.acrplus.org 

The Italian Compost and Biogas Consortium (CIC) is a non-profit association gathering 144 members including composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. Considering its background and the good performance of Italy regarding bio-waste capture rate and quality compost, CIC is involved in activities EU-wide showcasing how the bio-waste value chain can return organic carbon to the soil while generating energy carriers and green jobs. www.compost.it 

The European Compost Network (ECN) is a membership organisation with 66 members from 27 European Countries, promoting sustainable recycling practices in composting, anaerobic digestion and other biological treatment processes of organic resources. www.compostnetwork.info 

ENT Foundation (ENT) is a research centre based in Barcelona and dedicated to the elaboration, analysis, and implementation of public environmental policies. ENT’s team is composed of around 25 highly specialised consultants. www.ent.cat 

Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) is the European network of communities, local leaders, experts, and change agents working towards a better use of resources and the elimination of waste in our society. We advocate for sustainable systems; for the redesign of our relationship with resources; and for a global shift towards environmental justice, accelerating a just transition towards zero waste for the benefit of people and the planet. www.zerowasteeurope.eu