Zero Waste Europe: EU recovery funds can build circular material economies after COVID-19

01 May 2020 --- Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) has declared its support for the European Commission’s COVID-19 waste management guidance, which was released in April. The guidance gives recommendations to Member States on how to ensure a high level of human and environmental protection while preventing and reducing disruptions in the provision of proper waste management services. ZWE has, however, warned against the risk of short-term policy-making that could undermine the EU’s long-term circular economy objectives while highlighting that the crisis provides an opportunity to invest European recovery funds in building circular economies.

The Commission’s guidance states that “there is currently no evidence to suggest that standard waste management procedures are unsafe or insufficient, in terms of the risk for COVID-19 infection or that household waste plays a role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2” or other respiratory viruses.

The Commission specifically advises Member States to safeguard the overall continuity of proper municipal waste management services, including separate collection and recycling, that continue to align with and adhere to current EU waste regulations.

In this regard, the Commission advises that any adaptation of waste collection practices must continue to comply with EU law on waste. Any changes to waste collection practices must be “proportionate to goals of protecting human health,” whilst changes and adaptations must be limited “to areas and time periods strictly necessary.” Changes must also be “based on the latest scientific advice,” leaving no room for arbitrary decisions.

Zero Waste Europe has warned that short-term policy-making could undermine the EU’s long-term circular economy objectives.According to ZWE, one of the most important points within the guidance is that any transitional adaptations to waste management systems must “strive to maintain the overall objective of separate collection and recycling in line with the waste hierarchy.”

Short-term policy making poses long-term threats
ZWE supports the Commission's acknowledgment of the importance of science-based decision-making, whilst warning against the risk of short-term policy-making that could undermine the EU’s long-term circular economy objectives.

Furthermore, through biological stabilization methods, there is a possibility to effectively deal with residual waste whilst also addressing the need to sanitize waste during the COVID-19 crisis and ensure compliance with the EU Directive 99/31 on Landfilling, ZWE notes.

“There is solid scientific evidence that highlights the efficiency of temperatures achieved through biological stabilization in ensuring proper viral inactivation. Importantly, biological stabilization may use capacities that could be converted to composting at a later stage, thereby ensuring flexibility and full alignment with the long term EU roadmap towards a circular economy,” ZWE states.

Rebuilding society with circular blocks
EU member states remain locked in discussions regarding the size and structure of what the recovery funding mechanism will take following the COVID-19 crisis. The crisis provides an opportunity to invest European recovery funds into building economies that are circular in their material use, which lead the transition to a zero-waste, zero-carbon future, ZWE points out.

“At a time when there may be an increase in prioritizing and optimizing cost savings by public authorities, our zero-waste approach can provide municipalities with a localized and resilient system that is also less capital intensive, providing several opportunities to reduce expenditure on waste management,” ZWE indicates.

These opportunities range from having less waste collection rounds due to a reduction in waste generation and an increase in reuse or home composting to extra revenues from having higher quality recycled materials and a reduction in the fees paid to expensive waste disposal methods, such as incineration.

Also, ZWE notes that whilst delivering cost efficiency, zero-waste programs shift a local economy towards one that provides more local jobs and has less capital expenditure. Thereby creating a circular economic model, preventing waste from being generated whilst delivering more employment and economic growth in a sustainable way.

“The COVID-19 crisis has provided us all with an opportunity to reflect on our lives, our society and the kind of future we want to build. As the Commission’s guidance highlights, the collection of waste and recycling can and should continue undisturbed,” ZWE adds.Zero Waste Europe has urged European recovery funds to prioritize the establishment of circular material economies.

Post COVID-19: Business as usual?
ZWE expects national governments to take note and apply the findings of this guidance when considering changes to their waste management practices. However, it would be wrong to simply call for a return to “business as usual” once the COVID-19 crisis is over, the Brussels-based NGO stresses.

2020 marks the first year of recycling targets set within the EU Waste Framework Directive, requiring member states to achieve 50 percent recycling rates. Current estimates show that less than half of the EU’s Member States were on target to reach this goal.

“Therefore a return to business as usual is insufficient. What is required is greater ambition, backed up by meaningful implementation on the ground. In the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, it is these principles and goals that should be embedded at the forefront of any economic recovery package decided by governments,” ZWE concludes.

In related news, compostable packaging supplier TIPA has warned that the coronavirus crisis provides the conventional plastic industry with “an excuse to resurrect old habits.” Speaking to Bio Market Insights, Julia Vol, Director of Public Affairs at TIPA, said: “At the moment politicians are under a lot of pressure from the fossil fuel industry that is losing money every day to setback regulation on single-use plastic under the excuse of fighting the virus. However, we cannot try to solve one problem by creating another. We would like to encourage decision-makers to ask why we need to revert the ban on items such as straws, plastic cotton buds and stirrers, what purpose does it serve in the fight against the virus?”

The comments come as The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) recently confirmed that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and subsequent disruption to businesses, its ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds is delayed until October 2020.

Edited by Joshua Poole