Ninth Report - European Scrutiny Committee Contents


3 EU legislation on waste

Committee's assessment Legally and politically important
Committee's decisionNot cleared from scrutiny; for debate in European Committee A with the Commission Communication on a Zero Waste Programme for Europe (36209), 11598/14 + ADDs 1-10, COM(14) 397

Document detailsAmendments to EU legislation on waste
Legal baseArticles 114 and 191(2) TFEU; co-decision; QMV
DepartmentEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs and Business, Innovation and Skills

Summary and Committee's conclusions

3.1 In its Communication[11] on the development of a zero waste programme for Europe, the Commission has identified a number of ways in which amendments might be made to various EU legislative measures relating to waste, and this draft Directive accordingly proposes a number of changes, notably to Directive 2008/98 on waste, Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, and Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste. These include more stringent targets for the recycling of waste, and of packaging and packaging waste, as well as provisions which would restrict the quantity of waste sent for landfill.

3.2 The Government says that, given the long-timescale involved, and the various technical and financial uncertainties, it is very difficult at this stage to give a precise estimate of the likely cost, and that further work is underway to fully assess the implications for the UK. In the meantime, preliminary estimates suggest that the net total discounted costs for recycling municipal waste and the associated measures on landfill could range from the high hundreds of million to the low billions of pounds. It has also expressed concern that proposals to set out more stringent criteria for the application of producer responsibility are not supported by sufficient evidence and do not comply with the principle of subsidiarity.

3.3 This is clearly a wide-ranging and significant piece of legislation which seeks to give effect to the proposals set out in the Commission's Communication for achieving a zero waste economy for Europe, and we note the Government's comment that many of the key assumptions in the Commission's impact assessment are simplistic, and underestimate the true costs of implementing the proposals. In particular, we have been told that DEFRA economists provisionally indicate that, in addition to the costs of maintaining the levels required from the existing 2020 targets, the net discounted costs solely for the municipal waste recycling target and associated landfill bans arising from the need to invest in new recycling capacity and to modify collection and treatment systems could range from the high hundreds of millions to the low billions of pounds.

3.4 We also note that the Government has suggested that a proposed new Annex to the Waste Framework Directive, which sets out for the first time stringent criteria which Member States choosing to apply extended producer responsibility would be obliged to meet, does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity (in contrast to the current Directive, which enables Member States to choose the content of the scheme, resulting in a variety of schemes across the EU, which are appropriate to local circumstances).

3.5 In view of this, we have considered carefully whether these concerns justify recommending that the House should issue a Reasoned Opinion under Protocol 2 to the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union. However, we have concluded that this would not be justified at this stage on the grounds that the proposal amends existing legislation is an area where there is long-established EU intervention; the Commission's impact assessment provides some evidence of environmental benefit and its internal market justification is ostensibly credible; the Government's objection relates simply to extended producer responsibility, which is a relatively small element in the overall package; the amendment would still give Member States discretion whether to impose extended producer responsibility and to apply the minimum rules taking into account both the technical feasibility and the economic viability of doing so; and the objection to requiring extended producer responsibility to cover the entire cost of post-consumer waste treatment appears to be more a question of how the objective should be achieved, rather than whether it should be addressed at EU level.

3.6 Having said that, we are clear that this proposal raises a number of other important issues, and that it should be debated in European Committee A. However, as the measures in it feature prominently in the Commission's Communication on the development of a zero waste programme for Europe, we would be content for the two documents to be debated together.

Full details of the documents: Draft Directive amending Directives 2008/98/EC on waste, 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, and 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment: (36209), 11598/14, + ADDs 1-10, COM(14) 397.

Background

3.7 We are reporting separately on a Commission Communication which sets out a zero waste programme for Europe, intended to encourage the development of a so-called "circular economy", which seeks to retain added value in products and to eliminate waste. This identified a number of areas in which amendments might be made to existing EU legislation related to waste, and this draft Directive accordingly proposes changes to:

·  Directive 2008/98 on waste;

·  Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste;

·  Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste;

·  Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles;

·  Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators; and

·  Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment.

DIRECTIVE 2008/98/EC

3.8 This is commonly known as the Waste Framework Directive, and is the principal EU instrument dealing with waste. Its main provisions include:

·  key definitions, notably of "waste" and "hazardous waste", "prevention", "re-use", "treatment", "recovery", "recycling" and "disposal";

·  the establishment of a waste hierarchy, with priority being given to prevention, followed by preparation for re-use, recycling, other recovery, and disposal;

·  provisions to determine when a product ceases to be waste (thereby achieving "end-of-waste" status), and hence is not included in various statutory recovery and recycling targets;

·  introduces the concept of extended producer responsibility, enabling Member States to require producers to accept returned products (and any waste remaining after their use), as well as financial responsibility for their subsequent management;

·  requires Member States to take the measures necessary to ensure that waste undergoes recovery, is re-used and recycled, or, if disposed, is done so in a way which protects human health and the environment consistently with the relevant provisions of the Directive;

·  sets out responsibilities for waste management by producers or other holders, and the principles of self-sufficiency and proximity;

·  contains provisions relating to hazardous waste, waste oils and bio-waste;

·  sets out the basis on which Member States should issue permits for establishments carrying out waste treatment (including exemptions for those recovering waste or disposing of their own non-hazardous waste on site), enables the Commission to set technical minimum standards for treatment activities requiring a permit, and requires a register to be kept for certain undertakings which are not subject to permit requirements;

·  requires Member States to ensure that their authorities establish waste management plans containing specified information on the content and level of waste, and the measures being taken to deal with it, as well as waste prevention programmes; and

·  sets out provisions regarding inspections, record keeping, and enforcement and penalties, together with requirements on Member States to provide the Commission with information on the Directive's implementation.

3.9 It also sets out the basis for the Commission to introduce detailed implementing measures under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny applying at that time.

3.10 This proposal would amend Directive 2008/98/EC by:

·  defining "municipal waste", "food waste", "construction and demolition waste", "backfilling", and what constitutes a "small establishment or undertaking";

·  clarifying that end-of-waste materials used as fuels or for backfilling, and material rejected from recycling, should not be counted towards a re-use or recycling target;

·  strengthening the provisions on extended producer responsibility by requiring Member States to encourage the design of products to reduce their environmental impact, and in particular by requiring them to comply with a minimum set of requirements (which are set out in a new Annex to the Directive) when they operate such schemes;

·  requiring Member States to take appropriate waste prevention measures, and introducing an aspirational (non-binding) target for reducing food waste by 30% between 2017 and 2025;

·  setting a target whereby 70% of municipal waste would be recycled by 2030;

·  establishing an early warning system to identify under-performing Member States, and to require them to submit to the Commission additional measures to meet the targets;

·  introducing a provision to track hazardous waste by means of an electronic reporting system;

·  introducing a requirement for bio-waste to be separately collected, and for the Commission to assess the opportunity to draw up end-of-waste quality criteria for compost and digestate;

·  allowing Member States to extend exemptions from the requirement to have a permit for the collection, transport, disposal or recovery of waste to establishments collecting and transporting non-hazardous waste, and to exempt small businesses collecting or transporting small quantities of non-hazardous waste from the need to register;

·  proposing that national waste management plans should include information on collection schemes, installations and special arrangements for certain waste streams, littering, and planning requirements: and that waste prevention plans should cover food waste;

·  extending the record-keeping requirements from hazardous waste facilities to producers of all wastes;

·  requiring penalties to imposed for illegal waste dumping;

·  increasing from once every three years to annually the frequency with which Member States must report to the Commission; and

·  empowering the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts for a range of activities to supplement the proposed Directive, thus implementing amendments to the Lisbon Treaty.

PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE DIRECTIVE (94/62/EC)

3.11 This was introduced in 1994 in order to harmonise national measures in this area, with the dual aim of reducing the impact of packaging on the environment and of underpinning the internal market. It requires Member States to ensure that measures are taken to prevent the production of packaging waste, that packaging is re-used, and that systems are established to provide for the return of used packaging from the consumer or from the waste stream so as to channel it into the most appropriate waste management alternatives.

3.12 It also set Member States a number of initial targets for the recovery of packaging waste and material, and made provision for the Council to establish subsequent targets. The Directive was accordingly amended by Directive 2004/12/EC, which in particular required Member States to achieve by the end of 2008 an overall recovery and recycling target (expressed as a percentage by weight) for all packaging, with separate minimum sub-targets for specific materials contained in packaging waste (glass, paper and board, metals, plastics and wood). It also introduced the concept of producer responsibility and of promoting energy recovery where this is economically and environmentally preferable to recycling.

3.13 The Commission has now proposed that the relevant definitions in Directive 94/86/EC should be aligned with those in Directive 2008/98/EC; that the process by which Member States report annually to the Commission should be simplified; that Member States should take appropriate measures to encourage the design of packaging to reduce its environmental impact, and the development of packaging which is suitable for multiple use; that the way in which recycling is measured should be changed so as to net off reprocessing losses; that the way in which material flows are measured should be changed; and that changes should also be made to ensure compliance with the human and environmental protection aspects of Directive 2008/98/EC. However, the main change is that the Commission has proposed the following extended targets for 2020, 2025 and 2030 (which will now cover "re-use and recycling", rather than "recycling and recovery"):
Target type
At present
2020
2025
2030
Total packaging60% 60%70% 80%
Plastics22.5% 45%60% None stated
Aluminium70%80% 90%
Ferrous metal50% 70%80% 90%
Glass60% 70%80% 90%
Paper/cardboard60% 85%90% None stated
Wood15% 50%65% 80%

LANDFILL DIRECTIVE (1999/31/EC)

3.14 This measure was introduced in order to regulate landfill throughout the EU, so as to prevent (or reduce as far as possible) its environmental impact, particularly as regards pollution of surface and ground water, soil and air (including greenhouse gas emissions), as well as any risk to human health, during its whole life cycle. More specifically, it:

·  requires landfill to be classified according to whether hazardous, non-hazardous, or inert waste is involved, and only the appropriate waste to be accepted for any specified class;

·  requires Member States to reduce over a period of 15 years the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill to 35% of the level obtaining in 1995, and to prevent landfill being used for liquid waste, for waste which is explosive, corrosive, oxidising or highly flammable, for hospital and clinical wastes, and for tyres;

·  sets out various provisions relating to an application for a landfill permit, the conditions for issuing such a permit, and its content;

·  requires Member States to ensure that the costs of setting up, maintaining and closing a landfill site (including its aftercare) are covered by the price which the operator charges for the disposal of waste to it; and

·  sets out procedures governing the acceptance of waste at a landfill site, control and monitoring during the operational phase, and closure and aftercare.

3.15 This proposal would:

·  align various definitions with those in the Waste Framework Directive, introduce a definition of "residual waste" and clarify the definition of "biodegradable waste";

·  prohibit Member States from accepting for non-hazardous landfill after 1 January 2025 recyclable waste, including plastics, metal, glass, paper and cardboard, and other biodegradable waste;

·  require Member States to limit from 1 January 2025 the quantity of waste in non-hazardous landfill to 25% of the total amount of municipal waste generated in the previous year;

·  require Member States to endeavour to accept only residual waste in landfill for non-hazardous waste by 1 January 2030, so that the total amount going to such landfills does not exceed 5% of the total amount of municipal waste generated the previous year;

·  prohibit Member States from accepting municipal waste to be deposited in landfills for inert waste;

·  require the Commission to assess the feasibility of introducing restrictions on the landfilling of non-residual waste in landfills for inert waste, and to present its conclusions by 2018, including a legislative proposal, if appropriate; and

·  introduce an early warning system.

OTHER DIRECTIVES

3.16 In the case of the End of Life Vehicles Directive (2000/53/EC), the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (2006/66/EC) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2012/19/EU), the Commission has proposed relatively small amendments, including aligning the definitions in them with those in the Waste Framework Directive and simplifying reporting requirements placed on Member States.

The Government's view

3.17 We have received a very comprehensive joint Explanatory Memorandum of 25 July 2014 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dan Rogerson) and the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Matthew Hancock).

3.18 They observe that this is a complex review of waste legislation which will potentially affect a number of national measures, and that some of the impacts could have a cumulative effect as they introduce new targets, whilst amending the definitions and calculation methods needed to achieve those targets. Although they have provided an initial assessment of the policy implications, which makes it clear that there will be costs on business, they say that, given the long timescale involved and the various technological and financial uncertainties, it is at this stage very difficult to give a precise estimate, and that further work is underway to fully assess the implications for the UK.

3.19 In the meantime, they note that the impact assessment produced by the Commission is Europe-wide and does not give figures for the impact on individual Member States: and that, although the issues involved are very complex, many of the key assumptions are simplistic, leading to an analysis which underestimates the true costs of implementing the proposals, particularly as no attempt is made to quantify the costs to householders. However, they note that preliminary estimates by DEFRA economists — which they stress should be treated with considerable caution and could change substantially once more robust costings are available — indicate that the net total discounted costs solely for the municipal waste recycling target and associated landfill bans arising from the need to invest in new recycling capacity and to modify collection and treatment systems could range from the high hundreds of millions to the low billions of pounds, in addition to the costs of maintaining the levels required from the existing 2020 targets.

3.20 The Ministers also address at some length the question of subsidiarity. They note the Commission's view that the proposal conforms with the subsidiarity and proportionality principle set out in the Treaty on the European Union, and that it is essentially limited to amending existing EU level targets and definitions, whilst leaving Member States free to decide about precise implementation methods. They also acknowledge that, for most Member States, EU targets have been a key driver in changing waste management practices and developing meaningful waste management plans, whilst the establishment of an EU-wide waste market has been important in developing recycling and recovery processes and providing a level playing field for the waste management sector and addressing transnational environmental issues.

3.21 However, they express the view the Commission's proposal to add a new Annex to the Waste Framework Directive setting out for the first time stringent criteria which Member States which choose to apply extended producer responsibility would be obliged meet — including some "rigorous" new burdens on business and individuals, where a lighter touch regime may be more locally appropriate — does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, and could threaten waste management over a whole country. They note that this is in contrast to the current Directive, which enables Member States to choose the content of the scheme, including any new burden imposed on businesses or individuals, and to impose producer responsibility requirements to differing extents, resulting in a varied set of producer responsibility schemes across the EU, which are appropriate to local circumstances. In particular, they say that the Commission has not set out sufficient evidence to support its assertion that the proposal is necessary to "ensure a level-playing field and avoid obstacles to the functioning of the internal market", and they maintain that there will be a level playing field so long as Member States comply with the minimum requirements of the Directive.

3.22 A more detailed analysis of the proposals affecting the Waste Framework, Packaging and Packaging Waste and Landfill Directives, and their implications for the UK, is set out in the Annex.

Previous Committee Reports

None.


11   (36203) 11592/14: see Chapter 2 of this Report. Back


 
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Prepared 19 September 2014