Waste

A detailed global survey has confirmed the efficacy of deposit-return schemes and suggests a more uniform implementation across Europe could cut drinks container waste by as much as three quarters.

Critics of waste incineration have drawn attention to the prospect of EU support for energy-from-waste technology through the billion-euro Innovation Fund drawn from the proceeds of the emissions trading system.

In other news this week: EU Council presidency holder Portugal became the first EU member to formally submit its recovery and resilience plan, trade group criticises exclusion of waste incineration from the EU Taxonomy, and Greece shortens its deadline for ending coal-fired power generation

Member states risk missing out on EU investment unless they hurry to submit updated waste management plans that were due last year, a European Commission official has said.

The European Commission aims to treat chemical recycling as the last resort option for dealing with plastic waste, according to the latest leak of draft annexes to the Taxonomy Regulation, designed to set an EU standard for ‘sustainable’ investment.