Challenges of Resource Efficiency

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Challenges of Resource Efficiency

• Karolina Fras
• European Commission DG Environment

21 October 2009
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1. Waste as a resource
2. Waste as a source of emissions
3. Waste as a tradable good

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1. Waste as a resource

• Leakage of resources outside EU (illegal
  shipments)
• Untapped recovery potential huge discrepancies
  between MS
• Over 50 potentially recyclable waste disposed
• Examples
• Paper (56 replaces primary material, but 31 to
  66 of wasted recycling potential)
• Iron, steel (75 replaces primary material, but
  15 to 52 of wasted recycling potential)
• Bio-waste (37 replaces primary material, but 31
  to 98 of wasted recycling potential)

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Current state of waste recovery in the EU

• 18 selected waste streams (85 of total waste in
  EU 27 in 2004)
• 46 recovered - 54 disposed
• Highest recovery rates
• Rubber tyres
• Iron steel, copper, lead
• Paper cardboard
• Lowest recovery rates
• Bio-waste
• Plastics
• Textiles

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Recycling, incineration and landfilling of
municipal solid wastes in Europe
Source EEA, 2007.
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2. Waste and emissions
Consultancy Focus / scenario Additional potential in Mt CO2 equivalent saved
Oekopol Recycling MSW (WFD target) 88
Prognos Recycling MSW (WFD target) 12 waste streams 140 230 Mt/year (16 27 of EU Kyoto target)
FFact Energy from waste (40 in WtE) 45
EEA Decreased landfilling, increased recycling and energy recovery 85
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3. Waste as a good

• Limited supply of certain raw materials in EU
• Dependence on imports
• Market distortions and volatility

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Where are we now?

• Despite its maturity (30 years of waste framework
  Directive) the Community waste legislation is not
  implemented sufficiently well by all Member
  States and economic players
• Thousands of illegal landfills
• More than 1 on 4 shipments of waste found to be
  illegal
• Frequent infringement cases
• Still high risk of damage to health and safety

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Action?

• Legislation
• revised WFD with its EOW criteria, waste
  hierarchy, separate collection and recycling
  targets
• daughter directives on waste streams
• new legislation?...
• Implementation
• key issue, in all MS
• WSR, Landfill and Waste Framework Directive as
  priorities
• EU Waste Agency?
• Improved markets
• quality of recyclates (info, labelling,
  standards)
• transaction costs (exchange of info, facilitate
  search of business partners)
• stable supply of secondary raw materials (improve
  waste collection and management schemes in MS)
• other?...

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• Revised Waste Framework Directive
• and resource efficiency

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Elements promoting resource efficiency

• Waste management hierarchy
• Life cycle thinking
• Clarification streamlining definitions
  (recovery, recycling, waste, end-of-waste,
  by-products, etc)
• Obligation of separate collection
• New recycling targets
• Focus on prevention

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Setting priorities with the 5-step Waste Hierarchy
PREVENTION

• Order of priorities
• Moving waste management up the hierarchy
• Best environmental outcome
• Life-cycle approach

PREPARING FOR REUSE
RECYCLING (COMPOSTING)
RECOVERY
DISPOSAL
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New recycling targets

• By 2020, the preparing for re-use and recycling
  of
• 50 by weight of at least paper, metal, plastic
  and glass from household and possibly other
  origins as far as these waste streams are similar
  to waste from households
• 70 by weight of non-hazardous construction
  demolition waste

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New dimension of prevention

• New requirements concerning prevention
• MS to establish waste prevention programmes
• Programmes to set out prevention objectives,
  describe prevention measures, determine
  qualitative and quantitative benchmarks or
  targets for waste prevention
• Indicators to be developed by the Commission
• Commission to create a system for sharing
  information on best practice regarding waste
  prevention and develop guidelines for MS

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• Other waste legislation
• and resource efficiency

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SOME TARGETS IN EU WASTE LEGISLATION
    min recovery min recycling collection rate
Packaging 2008 60 55  
Cars 2015 95 85 100
Electronics 2006 70 50 min 4 kg per inhabitant per year
Batteries 2011 50 to 75 (efficiency)
Batteries 2012 25
2016  45
Tyres 2006 0 landfill of tyres 0 landfill of tyres 0 landfill of tyres
Biowaste diverted from landfills 2006 reduction to 75 of the 1995 level reduction to 75 of the 1995 level reduction to 75 of the 1995 level
Biowaste diverted from landfills 2009 reduction to 50 of the 1995 level reduction to 50 of the 1995 level reduction to 50 of the 1995 level
Biowaste diverted from landfills 2016 reduction to 35 of the 1995 level reduction to 35 of the 1995 level reduction to 35 of the 1995 level
New targets 2015 Separate collection at least paper/metal/plastic/glass Separate collection at least paper/metal/plastic/glass Separate collection at least paper/metal/plastic/glass
(WFD) 2020 50 household waste 50 household waste 50 household waste
2020 70 construction and demolition waste 70 construction and demolition waste 70 construction and demolition waste
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What needs to be separately collected?

• WFD
• By 2015 separate collection shall be set up for
  at least the following paper, metal, plastic and
  glass.
• Bio-Waste
• Waste Oils
• Hazardous Waste
• Other waste legislation
• Batteries and accumulators
• WEEE
• ELV
• Packaging
• PCBc / PCTs
• Tyres (landfill ban as of 2003 for whole and 2006
  for shredded)

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Conclusion and outlook

• Waste is one aspect of a broader concept of
  resource efficiency
• Waste Framework Directive and other Community
  legislation provide means to achieve resource
  efficient EU economy
• Implementation is a key to success, efforts need
  to be stepped up to improve it

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European Commission karolina.fras_at_ec.europa.eu
http//ec.europa.eu/environment/