NEWSLETTER N° 148 – 20 NOVEMBER 2023

Hello from Brussels. The Council and the Parliament have reached an agreement on waste shipments, critical raw materials and environmental crimes, while the plenary vote on PPWR approaches. The different political groups have tabled their amendments and are gearing up for what is sure to be a battle. 

At FEAD, we’ve been reminiscing about our event in Rimini, Italy. Missed out on our conference last week on PFAS in the Waste sector? Do not fret, the pictures from our big day are out and free for you to enjoy on our website.

Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR): Co-legislators reached an agreement on 16 November 2023: 

• The objectives of the legislation have been expanded to climate neutrality and the achievement of the circular economy and zero pollution. 
• The new Regulation will introduce a central electronic system operated by the Commission for the submission and exchange of notifications and documentation.
• The issue of plastic waste shipment outside of EU countries had been divisive, but an agreement was found in a ban on exports of non-hazardous plastic waste (B3011) to non-OECD countries two and a half years after the entry into force of the regulation.

The Council’s press release is available online here.

Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): The European Parliament Plenary will discuss and vote on 22 November the PPWR proposals. Plenty of amendments from different political groups have been submitted.
Several EPP, ECR and ID MEPs have submitted questions to the Commission that call into question the transparency and impartiality of the impact assessment. 

Chemical Recycling: On 10 November, FEAD, in cooperation with EuRIC and Municipal Waste Europe, published a position paper on Mass Balance Accounting. The paper calls for for genuine reporting of recycled content in plastic products through transparent calculation methods in the context of the SUPD and it has been shared with the Commission, Member States and European Parliament.

Critical Raw Materials (CRM): On 13 November, the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement on CRM. In this agreement, the recycling benchmark has been increased from 15% to 25%, the maximum time to grant permits has been increased, for recycling projects, from 12 to 15 months and aluminium and synthetic graphite were included in the list of strategic raw materials.

Environmental crime directive: Co-legislators found an agreement after the last trilogue on 16 November. The Council’s press release is available online here. 

Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA): The text, adopted on 25 October in the industry committee (ITRE) will be voted on in plenary on 21 November.   

PFAS: All the comments ECHA received on their PFAS restriction proposal are now publicly available.
A large group of institutional investors have urged chemical companies to stop producing PFAS, describing the carcinogenic substances as ‘the new asbestos’.

Eco-design for Sustainable products Regulation (ESPR): The Council’s Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth met on 17 November 2023 to prepare the third trilogue scheduled for 4 December.   

Soil Monitoring Law (SML): The European Parliament’s agriculture committee (AGRI, associated committee) rapporteur on the SML, Maria Noichl (S&D, Germany) submitted its draft opinion report, dated 13 November 2023. It proposes intermediate targets to achieve healthy soils by 2050, set at 55% by 2035, 70% by 2040 and 80% by 2045.

European List of Waste: The European Commission is preparing a draft proposal to amend the European List of Waste to take account of new battery chemistries and fast-changing manufacturing and recycling processes. The adoption of the proposal is expected for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Air quality: On 9 November, the Council adopted its negotiating mandate for the trilogue with the European Parliament. The Council’s text adds some flexibility with regard to the attainment of the air quality limit values. Member States can then request a postponement of the deadline for a maximum of 10 years until no later than 1 January 2040. 

Plastic pollution: A new OECD interim report that looks at the effects of different levels of international co-ordination and policy stringency on plastic pollution has been published.

European Commission: The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action, worth more than €396 million. These projects concern nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy transition.