New restrictions on waste exports risk hindering recycling in Europe, industry warns

European Commission plans to overhaul of the EU’s waste shipment regulation could hit the recycling industry by creating a captive market in Europe with artificially low prices that will depress investments in recycling, the industry has warned. 

As part of its drive to create a circular economy, the EU executive tabled a revision of the waste shipment regulation in November last year. The aim is to ensure that the EU does not export its waste problems, to make shipments for reuse or recycling within the EU easier and to tackle illegal waste shipments.

But the one-size-fits-all nature of the European Commission’s proposal is poorly suited to the diverse waste streams it covers, said Emmanuel Katrakis from the European Recycling Industries Confederation (EuRIC).

“The European Commission’s proposal makes it extremely complex to export – not only for the problematic waste streams which we fully support in order to protect human health and the environment – but for all waste streams,” he told EURACTIV.

The concern for European recyclers is that EU demand for recycled materials from certain waste streams won’t be sufficient to incentivise recycling efforts. Without the possibility to export recycled waste globally, the European market “is either going to collapse or very drastically diminish,” Katrakis warned.

“When export restrictions are put in place, you end up having a captive market, with artificially depressed prices that will hit the competitiveness of the EU recycling industry and the ability to achieve the goals set by the EU Green Deal,” he explained.

“In practice, there is a genuine risk that the level of investments into scaling up capacities in Europe are going to diminish,” he warned, saying the industry is already stalling investment plans.

Europe cracks down on illegal waste exports, eases intra-EU trade

The European Commission put forward new rules on Wednesday (17 November) to crack down on the illegal shipment of waste to foreign countries, while easing procedures to trade recycled materials within the EU’s borders.

More restrictions on exports

The European Commission’s proposal puts forward audit requirements and the possibility of suspending shipments to OECD countries if they are found to be damaging to human health or the environment.

There is also an obligation for non-OECD countries to apply for receiving shipments. However, Katrakis criticises the proposed requirements for this, saying, “It’s so much bureaucracy that de facto it would very likely be an export ban.”

The recycling industry supports export restrictions on mixed plastics and other unprocessed waste, such as e-waste, end-of-life vehicles and tyres. But it warns that stronger and indiscriminatory restrictions could stifle markets for valuable materials, like metal scrap and recovered paper meeting quality specifications.

Similarly, EuRIC supports the idea of audits but warns that forcing countries outside of Europe to adhere to EU standards rather than international ones, risks creating additional barriers and render audits unenforceable on the ground.

Steelmakers calls for country-specific assessments

Meanwhile, the European Steel Association Eurofer has called for more clarity on auditing procedures, saying these should be performed by an EU-based independent and accredited third party. Regular reporting and transparency requirements should also apply, according to the association.

Eurofer also calls for stricter rules around exports, citing “serious shortcomings” regarding waste treatment in some countries outside the EU.

The industry body wants the introduction of a country-level assessment for all export destinations and argues the revised proposal should not automatically accept that OECD countries have equivalent standards to the EU.

Currently, 48% of EU steel production is based on scrap and Eurofer estimates more will be needed in the coming years to produce low carbon steel. Therefore, it warns against increasing exports of steel – a key material in the green transition – to places that may have lower environmental or labour standards.

“We are in an absurd situation where the EU sets very high environmental standards and circular economy objectives for the internal market – that the EU steel industry fully shares – while millions of tons of valuable secondary raw materials are being exported to jurisdictions where these same standards and objectives are not met,” said Axel Eggert, director general of Eurofer.

Katrakis argues, however, that there is no shortage of steel scrap in the EU, with only around 20% of recycled steel exported to countries like Turkey and the US.

Metals recycling in EU could collapse under new rules, companies say

Europe’s metals recycling industry could collapse under the European Commission’s proposed changes to waste shipments that clamp down on exports to encourage recycling, members of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) have warned.

The lead negotiator in the European Parliament, Pernille Weiss, says she supports the European Commission’s proposed export restrictions on waste.

“This regulation has a task which is not easy: to contain all waste streams under similar provisions,” the Danish Christian Democrat lawmaker told EURACTIV.

“I wish to keep the ambition of the Commission to treat waste streams similarly. Otherwise, we risk adopting a Regulation which is not ‘future proof’ to any new waste streams, new technologies for recycling these, or new demands for different raw materials,” she added.

According to Weiss, each waste stream has its individual challenges and opportunities for the green transition. For example, “while metals are an important part of the global recycling market, it is also a waste stream which we have good capacity to recycle within the Union,” she remarked.

The mixed plastic problem

One reason why the waste shipment regulation is being revised is because illegal shipments can cause damage to human health and the environment. Waste treatment standards also tend to be lower in countries outside the EU.

However, when it comes to problematic waste like mixed plastics, there are concerns that the draft EU regulation is not strict enough. At a European Parliament debate on the subject, several lawmakers put the spotlight on exports to Turkey, saying even OECD countries can be involved in problematic or illegal waste shipments.

Instead of having an approval by default for OECD members, minimum scrutiny should be required before plastic and other waste is exported, said Stéphane Arditi, a green campaigner at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

However, the European Commission is hampered by international agreements on this.

“We were forced to have this differentiation between OECD and non-OECD,” said Commission official Mattea Peligrini at a parliamentary debate on the proposal. “We’re fully aware that indeed the situation is not so rosy in all the OECD countries,” he added.

Belgian MEP Sara Matthieu, who is leading on the file for the Greens, begs to disagree. According to her, it is “unacceptable” that the EU is forced to export waste to places where it won’t be treated in acceptable social and environmental conditions.

Europe “cannot continue to dump it in countries who cannot actually treat it in an environmentally sound manner,” she said.

The deadline for lawmakers to submit amendments to the proposal is Wednesday (18 May). Weiss said that she expects some colleagues will have different positions on waste exports but that there is a shared goal of transitioning to a circular economy.

Meanwhile, Arditi called for EU lawmakers to table amendments to give shipments of waste destined to be recycled priority over those that are going to be incinerated for energy recovery.

Stop exporting plastic waste out of Europe, EU lawmakers say

Thirty-one lawmakers in the European Parliament have signed a manifesto calling for the end of plastic waste exports outside Europe and the facilitation of intra-EU shipment procedures to promote a genuine circular economy within the EU.

[Edited by Frédéric Simon]

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