Where next for Biowaste legislation in Europe – a priority for the European Parliament but not for the Commission?

The better management of biowaste, the biodegradable waste which is generated in gardens and kitchens, has long been a priority for European action. The environmental threat from biowaste is well known, as when left for disposal in landfills and not treated it generates methane which is a powerful greenhouse gas 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Measures to manage biowaste through composting and anaerobic digestion are starting to have a positive impact on this problem, and action to reduce food waste through waste prevention will also help. Recent studies[i] show how food waste prevention can reduce greenhouse gas emissions impact by 4.5 tonnes for every tonne of food waste prevented as well as save real money, with one third of food bought by UK households being wasted. 

The main European legislation to drive the reduction of biowaste from landfills and into more productive uses is the Landfill Directive. However, there has been much debate about the merits of establishing specific legislation on biowaste, and the European Commission and Parliament have considered and consulted on the potential for a Biowaste Directive.

The Commission has recently announced in a new Communication[ii] that it has now ruled out bringing forward legislation under a Biowaste Directive. It has determined following consultation with many interests that there is no policy gap at EU level (with the Landfill and Waste Framework Directives very much in mind) and instead has judged that the priority needs to be better implementation of existing legislation. 

This view is not shared by the European Parliament’s (EP) rapporteur on this matter, Portuguese MEP José Manuel Fernandes and members of the EP’s Environment Committee, who feel that a separate Biowaste Directive with mandatory separate collection targets for biowaste should be prioritised in order to focus action on this issue. In June the Committee[iii] voted in support of a Directive and while this may not move the Commission’s position it does put the Commission very much at odds with the will of the Environment Committee. 

NGOs such as the EEB (European Environmental Bureau) and composting industry bodies are supportive of a new Directive, with FEAD (representing the European waste management companies) expressing concerns about the prescriptive nature of mandatory separate collection.

Despite the vote of the EP’s Environment Committee and this week’s vote in the European Parliament to approve the Report[iv] of José Manuel Fernandes MEP which supports a new Directive, it looks as though the Commission’s view is now settled for some time and is in line with the general approach of the Barroso administration to new legislation, favouring a ‘lighter touch’ wherever possible. We will have to wait and see whether the view of the Parliament cuts any more ice with the Commission.

Despite the debate, it is clear that there are environmental and economic gains to be had from more sustainable management of biowaste, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, create valuable materials to be used on our land and to save consumers money through preventing food waste in the first place. Member States can of course choose to consider all these factors in determining their own approach to the issue and the implementation of the existing Directives. No doubt the debate on legislation will continue, as shared concerns about biowaste and agreement on the need for positive action will continue to see this resource stream prioritised for action at all levels.

 

 

 

 

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