Self-sufficiency over circularity: Zero Waste Europe calls for energy rethink to avoid “suicide”

29 Nov 2022 --- Zero Waste Europe’s (ZWE) “New Energy For Europe” manifesto calls on the need for building a new European project based on well-being, sufficiency and resilience to redirect the EU to meet its environmental goals.

The report aims to show Europe it can keep its commitment to staying within the 1.5-degrees Celsius of warming declared in the Paris Agreement by replacing current policies with a new concept. 

The packaging industry can help the EU to get back on track in reducing waste “by rethinking our relationship with energy and resources,” Larissa Copello, ZWE consumption and production campaigner tells PackagingInsights.

“The recurring justification for recycling needs to stop. There is just not enough oil and resources to continue the current trend, even if we achieve full circularity and decarbonization. We can’t recycle our way out of this crisis, but we can prevent it from getting worse and eventually reverse the situation if we rethink our objectives and tools.”

ZWE is “sick” of the packaging industry focusing on recycling and circularity, calling it a non-solution. Preventing packaging
ZWE calls out incineration plants for generating the most carbon-intensive energy source and still receiving tax exemptions. They name “avoiding unnecessary extraction, production and recycling of products and packaging that are not crucial” as a prominent solution to lead the EU to meet its environmental goals. 

The manifesto tells packagers to prevent their use of packaging wherever possible and instead focus on preserving embedded energy via well-designed, affordable, reusable packaging. 

A vital feature of the report was documenting that recycling is not a viable solution to the current waste crises across Europe. 

“Our infinite boundary planet cannot accept more trivial solutions, but rather resilient sustainable and long-term ones. This can be done by rationalizing our energy use through the prevention of production/use of products, goods, and packaging wherever possible,” says Copello. 

ZWE believes closed-loop toxic-free recycling should only be implemented as a last resort, saying circularity and decarbonization are insufficient solutions. “Even if we achieve full circularity and decarbonization, there is not enough oil and resources for it to be a sustainable option,” says the organization. 

Europe must start “re-designing products and systems – from the outset – first of all by preventing waste, reusing materials as much as possible and ensuring they are back on the loop,” Copello continues.

The report cites that an average European consumes the “equivalent of two to three planets” worth of resources, with over 90% of packaging becoming waste after only one use. Using scarce, expensive resources and energy to produce what is quickly going to become waste, when alternatives exist to avoid it, has always been reckless. Today, it is suicidal,” states the organization. 

Policy recommendations The new manifesto calls for EU countries to become more self-sufficient in creating their own energy and gas. 
ZWE recommends that European and national decision-makers related to packaging support European quality products with policies that make them longer-lasting, safer, repairable, recyclable and cheaper than the disposable options. 

The report puts an increased emphasis on changing taxation so that taxes are lower on durable, repairable and recyclable items while being raised on more toxic products and packaging. The organization believes the money gained from taxing more harmful packaging should be used to subsidize the consumption of locally produced, high-quality products. 

Lastly, ZWE asks policymakers to ban the market placement of non-essential products and packaging which cannot be repaired or recycled with existing technologies. 

Energy crisis: which war?
The global energy crisis significantly contributes to the EU not sufficiently meeting its emission and waste reduction goals. ZWE names the war on Ukraine as a primary catalyst to the energy crisis while calling attention to the underlying concept that Europe exhausted the economic and political model for its energy built after World War II.

High energy prices make extraction, production and recycling more expensive. As a result, former consumption levels quickly become unaffordable.“Things are likely to get worse before they get better,” they remark.

ZWE says the gas crisis from the war in Ukraine as a reason the EU is not meeting its energy reduction targets.To counteract the decreasing supply access – caused by relying on outsourcing – the manifesto recommends having countries become more self-sufficient and resilient. They say to focus on a different model of consumption where resources are shared instead of fighting for them. 

We are currently faced with “a broken system that is only delivering frustration, violence, inequalities, discrimination and decadence,” says ZWE. 

The European network asks countries to stop exhausting the current system in pursuing endless consumption, “which leaves pollution and war to future generations.”

Three pillars
ZWE frames these changes around generating well-being, sufficiency and resilience. It defines well-being based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development framework, which’s relevant measures include: access to services, environment, civic engagement and governance, community, and life satisfaction.

Sufficiency refers to the policies and daily practices that avoid the demand for energy, materials, land and water. Furthermore, resilience is the ability of a system and its parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner. 

By Sabine Waldeck