To ensure the EU is having a neutral impact on climate change by 2050, the European Commission is currently reviewing all relevant EU policies, including the Emissions Trading System (ETS), and proposing extending the ETS to new sectors of the economy. This revision is a crucial opportunity to subject this carbon-intensive municipal waste incineration industry to the “polluter pays” principle by pricing in the carbon cost of burning waste to progressively reduce emissions from the sector.
Available in English
The undersigned organisations representing European NGOs and recycling industries are writing today to urge the European Commission to establish a transparent and ambitious ‘chain of custody’ method for determining recycled content in plastic products.
Available in English
If the label on the bottle in your hand said it was made from recycled plastic, would you believe it? Depending on the method behind the claim, the bottle might contain little to no recycled content at all.
This position paper highlights recommendations to ensure that the methodologies for determining recycled content are developed in a manner which contributes to a circular economy.
Available in English
We, the undersigned civil society organisations, call on the EU institutions and member states to explicitly dedicate the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to financing the transition towards a circular, carbon neutral, zero pollution economy, to which the EU already committed, with a clear emphasis on waste prevention and reuse.
Available in English
Zero Waste Europe released today a report highlighting the importance of a Zero Waste Circular Economy in the post-COVID-19 recovery. The “Sustainable Finance for a Zero Waste Circular Economy (ZWCE)” report addresses the current lack of clarity around the concept of ZWCE. It provides clear criteria on the activities that need to be included and prioritised under the umbrella of the Sustainable Finanace by looking at the social, economic, climate, and environmental benefits. Check out our infographic here.
Available in English
What is a Zero Waste Circular Economy (ZWCE)? And how it could be beneficial for our society, the environment and climate, the economy and the post-COVID-19 recovery? Discover it in our infographic and read the full report here.
Available in English
Greenhouse gas emissions from Waste-to-Energy are currently hidden in the energy sector and therefore overlooked in waste sector accounting, giving us the false impression that WTE is an effective low-carbon waste solution. Our latest briefing shows that the trends across Europe are telling a different story.
Available in English
Zero Waste Europe calls for the exclusion of burning waste in cement plants in line with the Technical Expert Group (TEG) recommendation, as such practice proved to negatively impact public health and the environment due to the polluting nature of the associated emissions while undermining the circular economy.
Available in English
Our latest joint statement with the Rethink Plastic alliance, and notably ECOS, EEB and HCWH outlines key steps for effective legislation of chemical recycling in the EU.
Available in English
Zero Waste Europe released a policy briefing to act as guidance for the European Commission. In light of their proposals on accounting methodology for potential greenhouse gas emissions from so called ‘recycled carbon fuels’.
Available in English
Our latest policy briefing with Bellona EU & the Rethink Plastic alliance concerns using non-renewable plastic fuels under transport targets within REDII, making recommendations for how to maintain circular economy promises.
Zero Waste Europe releases today a policy briefing highlighting the importance of defining a new strategy for managing residual waste that corresponds with the requirements of the age of climate emergency we live in. The report defines an approach based on Material Recovery and Biological Treatment as a bridge strategy for managing residuals within a circular economy.
Full briefing available in English, French, Italian, and Polish.
Condensed briefing available in English, Montenegrin, and Croatian.
Zero Waste Europe analyses the impacts of COVID-19 on zero waste and suggests what can be done to keep working toward a zero waste future.
Available in English, Czech & Italian.
We joined other nearly 100 NGOs, to call on the European Commission to implement an effective and science-based EU Climate Taxonomy Delegated Acts. If done properly, the Taxonomy should help end greenwashing in the finance sector by showing which investments are truly sustainable. The Taxonomy can also play an even bigger role, helping the post-crisis EU economy become more resilient by guiding the EU’s green recovery spending. Read the ten demands and full list of signatories.
Available in English.
This Policy Briefing which analyses in depth the new Landfill Directive, part of the Circular Economy Package adopted in 2018. Specifically, the landfill minimisation target obliges Member States to limit the amount of municipal waste due to be landfilled to 10% or less of municipal waste generated at any given year by 2035. As the briefing describes, meeting the target is extremely challenging and the way it’s defined and must be calculated (in any given year and defined as a percentage) may contradict the overarching principles of the EU Circular Economy Agenda.
Available in English, Spanish & French
This Case Study written by ToxicoWatch puts the spotlight on the REC Dutch waste incineration plant, highlighting current failures to provide transparency, clear policy guidance and effective implementation.
Available in English.
The European Commission approved new Cohesion Fund aid of more than €100m to build two waste-to-energy incineration plants in Poland. Our Polish member, TNZ, highlights in a letter how this contradicts other commission legislation, such as the recently approved taxonomy regulation.
Available in English
The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) claims to be the world’s preeminent authority on sustainable finance. Yet its recently published Waste Management Criteria endorses waste incineration outside the EU as a sustainable investment. This reveals an alarming double standard in its environmental and social principles and ignores the demands of more than a hundred civil society organisations that urged CBI to protect the circular economy and the climate from this technology. Read our policy paper.
Available in English.