Waste

A new EU-backed coalition aims to help ramp up resource efficiency and recycling around the world while supporting a “just transition” for countries that are dependent on resource extraction and disposal.

A coalition of 16 Spanish environmental and trade union organisations last week asked the European Commission to investigate Spain’s failure to meet the 2008 waste framework directive’s 2020 target of 50% preparation for re-use and recycling of municipal waste.

Greek shipowners accounted for nearly one in 10 large ships sold for scrap worldwide in 2020, and nearly all of them ended being sent to south Asia instead of EU-approved breakers yards, a survey published on Tuesday shows.

The EU should put in place legal requirements to reduce raw material use, the production of non-recyclable waste, and the ecological footprint of consumer goods, the European Parliament’s environment committee agreed on Wednesday.

With over-consumption recognised as a key driver of ecological decline and climate change, the European Parliament's environment committee looks set to agree next week on the need for legal measures to reduce raw material use.