FEAD feedback to the Circular Economy Act public consultation
FEAD, the European Waste Management Association, represents the entire waste and resource recovery sector in Europe, including collection, sorting, recycling, energy and material recovery, and the final disposal. This holistic overview puts FEAD in a unique position to connect product, consumer, waste and industrial policy, ensuring that the circular economy is delivered in practice under the upcoming Circular Economy Act.
In our Manifesto[1] we set out our ambitious vision of shifting Europe’s overall material use towards recycled materials, supplying the economy with recycled materials and renewable energy, while managing waste safely and responsibly. We support the ambition to double the Circular Material Use Rate within the decade, and we propose a binding horizontal target of 25 % by 2030.
Achieving these targets requires that the circular economy be viewed through the lens of industry and competitiveness, not only sustainability. As we emphasise, recycling and recovery must become industrial-scale resource streams, capable of supplying high-quality materials back into European production, at competitive price and traceable origin.
While boosting CMUR is central, the rollout of robust recovery and final treatment systems for residual waste remains a fundamental part of our activity and must be retained, in line with the waste hierarchy, to safeguard system resilience and environmental protection.
In this position paper, FEAD offers comprehensive, practical input to the CEA consultation —supported by our 10 Policy Recommendations annexed herein. As the waste management sector, we are ready to partner with European institutions, national governments and industrial actors to turn circular economy objectives into tangible, investable, and scalable outcomes.
The attached document is based on FEAD’s responses to the Circular Economy Act questionnaire. Further information can be found in the responses to the questionnaire.
[1] FEAD published its manifesto ahead of the 2024 elections. The manifesto called back in 2024 for an EU Circular Material Use Act, and can be found on FEAD’s website: FEAD-Manifesto-2024.pdf