EU Expertise – Circular Economy
“The circular economy is about more than the economy. It’s about creating a positive attitude to the future, it’s about creating a sense that our future can be more prosperous, can be better. If Europe leads in this, Europe will also be the first who profits from this.”
Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission
On 11 March 2020, the European Commission has presented the new Circular Economy Action Plan. As the core element of the new European Green Deal, the Action Plan lays down a policy roadmap to decouple growth from resource use and transition to a circular economy. The Circular Economy Action Plan forms a key building block of the European Union’s climate policy and contributes to the climate policy priority of von der Leyen’s presidential term (2019-2024).
To transition to a circular economy, the Commission envisages to revise all major legislation regulating the production, consumption and waste management of products within the next 48 months.
The priorities of the Circular Economy Action Plan include:
- Reduction of packaging and packaging waste
- Mandatory requirements on the durability, reparability and recyclability of products
- Restriction of microplastics
- Harmonised separate waste collection
- Sustainable and circular farming practices
| A SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT POLICY FRAMEWORK | |
|---|---|
| Legislative proposal for a sustainable product policy initiative, including European Dataspace for Smart Circular Applications | 2021 |
| Legislative proposal empowering consumers | 2020 |
| Legislative and non-legislative measures establishing a new “right to repair” | 2021 |
| Mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria and targets | 2021 |
| KEY PRODUCT VALUE CHAINS | |
| Review to reinforce the essential requirements for packaging and reduce (over)packaging and packaging waste | 2021 |
| Mandatory requirements on recycled plastic content and plastic waste | 2021/2022 |
| Policy framework for bio-based plastics and biodegradable or compostable plastics | 2021 |
| EU Strategy for textiles | 2021 |
| Circular Electronics Initiative, common charger solution, and reward systems to return old devices | 2020/2021 |
| LESS WASTE, MORE VALUE | |
| Waste reduction targets for specific streams and other measures on waste prevention | 2022 |
| EU-wide harmonised model for separate collection of waste and labelling measures | 2022 |
| Methodologies to track and minimise the presence of substances of concern in recycled materials | 2021 |