Action Plan
Eurits fully supports the circular economy package, alongside its ongoing commitment to keeping the living and working environment clean and safe. The current focus is on recovering valuable components, including in the domain of hazardous waste.
However, one of the critical success factors for the circular economy is the trustworthiness of these recovered resources. Such trust depends on the quality and the long term sustainability of recovered materials regarding health and environmental impact.
Most of the actions Eurits sought were recognised in the revised 2018 WFD:
- A non-dilution principle, to prevent low-quality treatment and contamination of material cycles;
- A decontamination principle (definition and obligation), to prevent low-quality recycling;
- Separate collection of household hazardous wastes, to prevent contamination of household recyclates;
- Producer responsibility, to guarantee that waste producers ensure that their waste is correctly treated;
- Traceability of hazardous wastes, to ensure that recyclates are not contaminated.
These actions remain objective for Eurits:
- No permit exemptions.
- Ban on landfilling of organic hazardous waste.
The interface between waste, product and REACH regulations (chemical industry) are the next focus on the EURITS agenda.
“Thanks to Eurits’ input and knowledge sharing, the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD) will considerably strengthen the best practices in hazardous waste management. In addition, traceability provisions will contribute to improved and high-end recovery of materials.”
European Commission Vice-President, Jyrki Katainen, speech 2018