From waste plants to resource plants

The EESC:

• believes it is imperative to prioritise EU-level discussions on waste management and to implement a revised strategy to embrace pioneering projects aimed at enhancing recycling and resource recovery, while also diminishing the prevalence of dumpsites;
• calls for EU-level oversight to address infringements and to streamline the product chain with future investments;
• urges additional EU and national policies to enhance waste collection systems, to invest in advanced sorting technologies, to enforce existing regulations effectively, and to establish harmonised fines across Member States to combat illegal waste activities.
• supports the widespread harmonisation of standards for recovered materials in order to ensure a level playing field for virgin and secondary materials across the entire Union and to prevent their fragmented regulation at individual national levels;
• estimates that support for innovative recovery technologies and functional markets for recovered materials is needed, as well as a regulatory environment that encourages a transition from disposing of unsustainable materials to generating high-quality secondary materials;
• calls for increased financial incentives and support to develop and adopt innovative technologies while respecting the waste hierarchy principle;
• strongly supports maximising nutrient recovery from wastewater, sewage sludge and other sources, through best-practice treatment, recycling and through resource recovery methods aimed at capturing valuable minerals;
• recognises the need for dedicated upskilling and reskilling programmes for waste industry workers, and
• considers that information campaigns must be promoted and financed to inform EU citizens about waste prevention, producer responsibility and environmental protection.