The majority of the European Union's member states may fail to meet the recycling targets for municipal waste and packaging waste laid down in EU legislation. 18 out of the 27 member states are at risk of missing one or both of the 2025 targets, according to an analysis published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen on Thursday. In addition, some countries still landfill such a large share of their municipal waste that it appears doubtful they will be able to meet the 2035 EU landfill target.
Many EU states will have to significantly increase their efforts, according to the EEA. Its analysis serves as the basis for an "early warning report" published by the EU Commission in Brussels on Thursday.
The report covers the EU member states' progress towards the targets laid down in the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) of recycling or preparing for reuse at least 55 per cent of municipal waste from 2025 and landfilling no more than ten per cent of total municipal waste arisings from 2035. Similarly, the EEA reviewed the state of play with a view to the targets of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) for 2025, which include a recycling rate of 65 per cent for all packaging materials combined.
Only nine member states are on track to meet the 2025 targets both for municipal waste and for packaging waste, according to the Commission: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia....
