The EU Circular
Economy Package (CEP)
adopted by the EU Commission on
2 December 2015
• An excellent starting
position of aluminium
• Our first analysis of the
proposals
/ Aluminium is the poster child for the circular
economy
Aluminium is the material
of choice for:
Thanks to its durability
and endless recyclability,
of all the aluminium ever
produced is still in use today.
75%
Low carbon Resource-efficient
packaging
mobility
Energy efficient
building
/ Europe is #1 in aluminium recycling
To maintain its leading position, Europe needs to invest in the
circular economy
/ Aluminium is an energy bank
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The energy required for
aluminium primary production is
“locked” in the metal.
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Increasing recycling contributes
to reducing Europe’s energy
consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions.
When scrap leaves Europe, it is like
exporting a battery that is 95% full.
/ Europe is facing a challenge when it comes
to aluminium scrap availability
In 2014 almost 1 million tonnes
of aluminium scrap left Europe
to other parts of the world.
The energy contained in this scrap is close to:
5 / To make the circular economy work, we need to
keep scrap in the loop
The more we recycle, the less raw aluminium we need to import.
•
Maximise the collection of
available aluminium.
•
Invest in more efficient sorting
and treatment technologies an
melting processes.
/ A level playing field for responsible recycling
Keep SMEs in business and safeguard
the competitiveness and innovation
potential of the whole aluminium
value chain.
Ensuring higher health and safety standards
Recycling processes in
non-European countries tend
to have lower health, safety
and environmental standards.
Initial analysis of the possible impact of the
new Circular Economy Package
The CEP consists of:
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Communication ‘Closing the loop – an EU action plan for the
Circular Economy’
Revised legislative proposals on waste:
o Directive on Waste (‘Waste framework Directive)
o Directive on Packaging Waste
o Directive on Landfill
o Directive on electrical and electronic waste
Several factsheets on ‘Closing the loop’, helping the consumer
to choose sustainable products and services, addressing the
production phase as well as on ‘clear targets and tools for
better waste management’ and ‘from waste to resources’;
Public consultation results
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EU Action Plan
To complement the waste legislation, the EU Commission is proposing a
set of « soft » measures (not mandatory). Most of them were already in
the pipeline and are therefore on our radar screen:
Production
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Ecodesign mandate (2015-2017) to the European standardisation organisation to
include durability, reparability, recyclability of products in the ecodesign
requirements - 2015
Guidance and promotion of best practices in the mining waste management plans 2018
Consumption
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Evaluation of how current PEF pilots projects can be used to measure and
communicate environmental information - 2016 onwards
Waste management
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Improved cooperation with Member States to combat illicit shipment of end of life
vehicles - 2015 onwards
Promotion of industry-led voluntary certification of treatment facilities for key waste/
recyclate streams – 2018 onwards
Initiative on Waste to Energy (Energy Union) – 2016
Good practices in waste collection systems (in the 28 EU capitals) – 2016 onwards
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EU Action Plan (II)
Market for secondary raw materials
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Development of quality standards for secondary raw materials (in particular for
plastics), in addition to better use of end-of-waste criteria – 2016 onwards
Proposed legislation setting minimum requirements for reused water for
irrigation and groundwater recharge – 2017
Analysis and policy options to address the interface between chemicals,
products and waste legislation – 2017
Critical Raw Materials: improve exchange of information between
manufacturers and recyclers on electronic products (2016), EU standards for
recycling of electronic waste (2016)
Construction and demolition waste: pre-demolition assessment guidelines
(2017), voluntary recycling protocol (2016), core indicators for the assessment of
the lifecycle environmental performance (2017)
Innovation and investments: “Industry 2020 in circular economy” initiative
with €650 million in the Horizon2020 programme
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Revised legislative proposals on waste – in
general
The main lines of the proposals:
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Common EU targets for recycling of 60% to 65% of municipal waste
and of 65% to 75% of packaging waste by 2025, respectively 2030;
Only time derogations (5 years) for Member States which are today at
less than 20% recycling of municipal waste (Estonia, Greece, Croatia,
Latvia, Malta, Romania, Slovakia);
Binding landfill target to reduce landfill to maximum 10% of all waste
by 2030 and a ban on landfilling of separately collected waste and
economic instruments to discourage landfilling;
Simplified and improved definitions and harmonized calculation
methods for recycling rates;
Concrete measures to promote re-use and stimulate industrial
symbiosis;
Economic incentives for producers to put greener products on the
market and support recovery and recycling schemes (EPR schemes for
packaging, batteries, electric and electronic equipment, vehicles, etc.)
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Definitions, point of measurement and
calculations
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Alignment of definitions (municipal waste, construction and demolition
waste, final recycling process, backfilling, etc.) via the Waste Framework
Directive (WFD):
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Final recycling process: ‘’the recycling process which begins when no
further mechanical sorting operation is needed and waste materials
enter a production process and are effectively reprocessed into
products, materials or substances’’
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Positive as the point of measurement moves from ‘collection for’ to ‘real’
recycling’
Might result into a drop in the results for some materials, limited risk for
metals
Calculations based on the weight of the input waste entering the final
recycling process, but the weight of the output of any sorting operation
may also be used, providing
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such output waste is sent into the final recycling process and
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the weight of the remaining materials and substances for disposal or
energy recovery stays below 10% of the total weight recycled (= the
maximum ‘impurities’ level)
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Member States may take into account the recycling of metals that
takes place in conjunction with incineration (= from the bottom ashes),
providing these recycled metals meet certain quality requirements
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Very positive and essential for meeting the ambitious separate aluminium
packaging waste recycling targets
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Packaging
References to prevention but only concrete preparing for reuse and recycling
targets by weight, incineration with energy recovery still possible for remaining
non-recyclable fractions (mainly plastics);
o All packaging: 65% in 2025 and 75% in 2030
o Per material (2025 to 2030), including a new split metal targets:
o Plastics:
55% in 2025. no target for 2030 (to be defined)
o Wood:
60% to 75%
o Ferrous metal:
75% to 85%
o Aluminium:
75% to 85%
o Glass:
75% to 85%
o Paper and cardboard: 75% to 85%
 Reference to the same calculation basis as defined in the WFD, thus including
the metals recovered from the incineration of the bottom ashes – very positive!
 General requirements in the WFD for Extended Producer Responsibility
schemes – not yet sure what this exactly means for the cost-sharing with public
waste management operators
 Design for recycling: possibility for EPR to ‘modulate’ their costs on the basis of
the real end-of-life cost of products, taking into account their re-usability and
recyclability
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Construction and Demolition Waste
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Definition:
Backfilling is still a material recovery operation but cannot be
defined and thus calculated as ‘recycling’. The reprocessing of
waste into materials that are used for backfilling operations shall
be reported as backfilling;
The Commission may develop guidelines for the interpretation of
the definitions of recovery and disposal
 Positive, but we have to remain attentive
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Target:
The preparing for re-use, recycling and backfilling target for nonhazardous construction and demolition waste shall be increased to
a minimum of 70% by waste
 not satisfying as we need separate material based recycling
targets
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Scrap exports and monitoring
Waste exported from the EU for preparation for recycling shall only
count towards the attainment of the targets if the exporter can prove
that the shipment of waste complies with the requirements of that
Regulation and that the treatment of waste outside the EU took place
in conditions that are equivalent to the requirements of the relevant
EU environmental legislation
 Promotion of industry-led voluntary certification of treatment facilities
for key waste/recyclate streams
 Stepping up enforcement of revised Waste Shipment regulation 2016
onwards: main focus on the new WSR is putting in place inspection
plans by Member States including risk assessment sources of illegal
shipments and performance of the inspections
 Development of quality standards for secondary raw materials
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Links to the new proposal (accessible in full screen)
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Communication : Closing the loop - An EU Action Plan for the Circular
Economy
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ANNEX: EU Action Plan on Circular Economy
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Proposed Directive on Waste
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Proposed Directive on Packaging and packaging waste
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Proposed Directive on landfill
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Proposed Directive on electrical and electronic waste
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European Commission Press release
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European Commission MEMO
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Questions?
Contacts:
labberton@european-aluminium.eu
garczynska@european-aluminium.eu
lavorel@european-aluminium.eu
Avenue de Broqueville 12 - 1150 Brussels, Belgium
Phone +32 2 775 63 63
european-aluminium.eu
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