The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Commission Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the European Union.

Members believe that the Commission initiative promoted in its Green Paper provides an opportunity for Community action on the management of bio-waste.

According to the conclusions of the conference on the recycling of bio-waste in Europe, held in Barcelona on 15 February 2010 with the participation of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament stated that it is necessary to act in order to create a European legislative framework on bio-waste, since this is a key moment to promote such regulation.

Legislation: underlining that the rules on the management of bio-waste are fragmented and the current legislative instruments are not sufficient to achieve the stated objectives of the effective management of bio-waste, Parliament calls on the Commission to review the existing legislation applicable to bio-waste with a view, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle, to drawing up a proposal for a specific directive by the end of 2010 , including inter alia:

establishment of a mandatory separate collection system for the Member States, except where this is not the appropriate option from the environmental and economic point of view, recycling of bio-waste, a quality-based classification of the different types of compost from bio-waste.

The Commission is called upon to elaborate in its impact assessment an improved system for the management of bio-waste regarding the recycling of separately collected bio-waste, the use of composting for agricultural and ecological benefit, the mechanical/biological treatment options, and the use of bio-waste as a source for generating energy. Members consider that this impact assessment should be used as a basis for preparing a new European Union legal framework on biodegradable waste.

Use: the Commission is urged to lay down criteria in conjunction with Member States for the production and use of high-quality compost and to adopt minimum requirements for end products. This would permit quality-grading covering different types of use for the various types of compost obtained through the treatment of bio-waste in the framework of a strategy based on an integrated approach ensuring not only quality but also product traceability and safe use.

Energy: Members consider anaerobic digestion to be especially useful for bio-waste because it yields nutrient-rich soil improver, digestate, and also biogas, which is renewable energy that can be converted to biomethane or used to generate base-load electricity. They reiterate therefore that separate refuse collections are essential in order to comply with the Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC), to provide quality input to bio-waste recycling and to improve the efficiency of energy recovery.

The resolution stresses that diverting bio-waste from landfills needs to be increased. It notes, in this context, that bio-waste can contribute to the EU target of at least 20% renewable energy by 2020 and also that of the EU Fuel Quality Directive. Members call, therefore, on Member States to consider energy recovery from the biodegradable parts of waste in their national legislation as part of an integrated waste hierarchy policy and urge them to share best practice ideas.

In order to increase diversion, recycling and biogas generation rates, all technological tools and options that maximise resource recycling or biogas generation should be left open, according to the resolution. Stressing that bio-waste is a valuable renewable resource for the production of electricity and biofuel for transport and for feeding into the gas network, Members call on the Commission to analyse and promote ways of using bio-waste to produce biogas.

Research and innovation: Members urge the Commission and Member States to encourage and support scientific research and technological innovation in the field of bio-waste management.

Awareness and information: the Commission and the Member States are urged to promote environmental awareness-raising activities in the field of bio-waste, particularly in schools and higher education institutions so as to promote better waste prevention behaviour patterns. The resolution stresses in this context the important role of towns, municipalities and municipal undertakings in advising and informing citizens about prevention of waste.

Environmental aspects: Members consider that treated bio-waste should be used to conserve organic matter and complete nutrient cycles, especially the phosphate cycle, by recycling it into the soil and calls therefore on the Commission to recognise that policies should be tested for their contributions to mitigating the unacceptably rapid depletion of the world’s phosphate resources.

Members also stress that bio-waste which is free of pollutants needs to be regarded as a valuable natural resource that can be used to produce quality compost.

The resolution stresses that, with a view to attaining objectives at various levels (combating climatic warming, soil degradation and soil erosion; attaining renewable energy objectives), a combination of composting and fermentation of selectively collected bio-waste, if feasible, undoubtedly possesses advantages and should be encouraged.

The Commission is called upon to propose national bio-waste recycling targets to limit the amount of bio-waste available for the least desirable waste management solutions like landfilling and incineration.

Compliance with Landfill Directive: Members reiterate that bio-waste management must be structured in line with the waste treatment hierarchy, namely: prevention, recycling, other forms of waste recovery, including energy recovery, and, as a last option, disposal in landfills. They call on the Commission to make greater efforts to enforce and secure the application of the laws on landfilling throughout the Union.

Economic aspects : Members consider that financial incentives are needed to expand this separate collection and other bio-waste management systems that maximise resource recovery. They underline the fact that in many Member States some infrastructure is already in place but that financial incentives are required to create and establish the potential markets in compost and digestate, bioenergy and biofuel from bio-waste.

Lastly, the Commission is urged to include in all current or additional impact studies on the matter the question of what type of economic incentives, funds or aids could be mobilised or created for the development and implantation of technologies permitting the proper management of bio-waste.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the own-initiative report drafted by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) on the Commission Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the European Union.

Members believe that the Commission initiative promoted in its Green Paper provides an opportunity for Community action on the management of bio-waste.

The report focuses on the following issues:

Legislation: Members urge the Commission to review the existing legislation applicable to bio-waste with a view, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle, to drawing up a proposal for a specific directive by the end of 2010 , including inter alia:

establishment of a mandatory separate collection system for the Member States, except where this is not the appropriate option from the environmental and economic point of view, recycling of bio-waste, a quality-based classification of the different types of compost from bio-waste.

The Commission is called upon to elaborate in its impact assessment an improved system for the management of bio-waste regarding the recycling of separately collected bio-waste, the use of composting for agricultural and ecological benefit, the mechanical/biological treatment options, and the use of bio-waste as a source for generating energy. Members consider that this impact assessment should be used as a basis for preparing a new European Union legal framework on biodegradable waste.

Use: the Commission is urged to lay down criteria in conjunction with Member States for the production and use of high-quality compost and to adopt minimum requirements for end products. This would permit quality-grading covering different types of use for the various types of compost obtained through the treatment of bio-waste in the framework of a strategy based on an integrated approach ensuring not only quality but also product traceability and safe use.

Energy: Members consider anaerobic digestion to be especially useful for bio-waste because it yields nutrient-rich soil improver, digestate, and also biogas, which is renewable energy that can be converted to biomethane or used to generate base-load electricity. They reiterate therefore that separate refuse collections are essential in order to comply with the Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC), to provide quality input to bio-waste recycling and to improve the efficiency of energy recovery.

The report stresses that diverting bio-waste from landfills needs to be increased. It notes, in this context, that bio-waste can contribute to the EU target of at least 20% renewable energy by 2020 and also that of the EU Fuel Quality Directive. Members call, therefore, on Member States to consider energy recovery from the biodegradable parts of waste in their national legislation as part of an integrated waste hierarchy policy and urge them to share best practice ideas.

In order to increase diversion, recycling and biogas generation rates, all technological tools and options that maximise resource recycling or biogas generation should be left open, according to the report. Stressing that bio-waste is a valuable renewable resource for the production of electricity and biofuel for transport and for feeding into the gas network, Members call on the Commission to analyse and promote ways of using bio-waste to produce biogas.

Research and innovation: Members urge the Commission and Member States to encourage and support scientific research and technological innovation in the field of bio-waste management.

Awareness and information: the Commission and the Member States are urged to promote environmental awareness-raising activities in the field of bio-waste, particularly in schools and higher education institutions so as to promote better waste prevention behaviour patterns. The report stresses in this context the important role of towns, municipalities and municipal undertakings in advising and informing citizens about prevention of waste.

Environmental aspects: Members consider that treated bio-waste should be used to conserve organic matter and complete nutrient cycles, especially the phosphate cycle, by recycling it into the soil and calls therefore on the Commission to recognise that policies should be tested for their contributions to mitigating the unacceptably rapid depletion of the world’s phosphate resources.

Members also stress that bio-waste which is free of pollutants needs to be regarded as a valuable natural resource that can be used to produce quality compost.

The report stresses that, with a view to attaining objectives at various levels (combating climatic warming, soil degradation and soil erosion; attaining renewable energy objectives), a combination of composting and fermentation of selectively collected bio-waste, if feasible, undoubtedly possesses advantages and should be encouraged.

The Commission is called upon to propose national bio-waste recycling targets to limit the amount of bio-waste available for the least desirable waste management solutions like landfilling and incineration.

Compliance with Landfill Directive: Members reiterate that bio-waste management must be structured in line with the waste treatment hierarchy, namely: prevention, recycling, other forms of waste recovery, including energy recovery, and, as a last option, disposal in landfills. They call on the Commission to make greater efforts to enforce and secure the application of the laws on landfilling throughout the Union.

Economic aspects : Members consider that financial incentives are needed to expand this separate collection and other bio-waste management systems that maximise resource recovery. They underline the fact that in many Member States some infrastructure is already in place but that financial incentives are required to create and establish the potential markets in compost and digestate, bioenergy and biofuel from bio-waste.

Lastly, the Commission is urged to include in all current or additional impact studies on the matter the question of what type of economic incentives, funds or aids could be mobilised or created for the development and implantation of technologies permitting the proper management of bio-waste.

PURPOSE: to present a Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the EU.

CONTENT: national policies applying to bio-waste management differ across the Community, ranging from little action in some Member States to ambitious policies in others. This can lead to increased environmental impacts and can hamper or delay full utilisation of advanced bio-waste management techniques. The Commission wishes to investigate whether action on national level would be sufficient to ensure proper bio-waste management in the EU, or whether Community action is needed. The Green Paper aims to discuss these questions and prepare grounds for the forthcoming impact assessment which will also address the subsidiarity issue.

Bio-waste is defined as biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises, and comparable waste from food processing plants. It does not include forestry or agricultural residues, manure, sewage sludge, or other biodegradable waste such as natural textiles, paper or processed wood. It also excludes those by-products of food production that never become waste. The total annual arising of bio-waste in the EU is estimated at 76.5-102 Mt food and garden waste included in mixed municipal solid waste3 and up to 37 Mt from the food and drink industry. Bio-waste is a putrescible, generally wet waste.

There are two major streams – green waste from parks, gardens etc. and kitchen waste . The former includes usually 50-60% water and more wood (lignocellulosis), the latter contains no wood but up to 80% water.

Waste management options for bio-waste include, in addition to prevention at source, collection (separately or with mixed waste), anaerobic digestion and composting, incineration, and landfilling. The environmental and economic benefits of different treatment methods depend significantly on local conditions such as population density, infrastructure and climate as well as on markets for associated products (energy and composts).

The Green Paper explores options for the further development of the management of bio-waste. It summarises important background information about current policies on biowaste management and new research findings in the field, presents core issues for debate, and invites stakeholders to contribute their knowledge and views on the way forward. It aims to prepare a debate on the possible need for future policy action, seeking views on how to improve bio-waste management in line with the waste hierarchy, possible economic, social and environmental gains, as well as the most efficient policy instruments to reach this objective.

The Paper also looks at the impact of the existing regulatory measures . Bio-waste management is already subject to a number of EU and national legislative measures including obligatory diversion from landfills (Landfill Directive), encouragement of recycling (new Waste Framework Directive), incineration and composting (Incineration Directive, IPPC Directive, and Animal By-Products Regulation) and product standards and requirements (Organic Farming Regulation, the EU Ecolabel requirements for compost, national standards). The Commission is also working on additional measures including end-of-waste criteria for compost and guidelines for bio-waste management.

With regard to environmental impacts, the Green Paper points out that biodegradable waste decomposes in landfills to produce landfill gas and leachate. The landfill gas, if not captured, contributes considerably to the greenhouse effect as it consists mainly of methane, which is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change effects in the 100-years time horizon considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

To help reach renewable energy targets , energy recovery could be significantly enhanced by developments in the area of anaerobic digestion for production of biogas and by improving the efficiency of waste incineration, for example by using cogeneration of electricity and heat.

The Green Paper also notes that the recycling of bio-waste (e.g. compost being used on soil and for the production of growing media) can result in some environmental benefits, notably with regards to the improvement of carbon-depleted soils.

The Green Paper concludes that major data difficulties and uncertainties exist with regards to bio-waste management options, highlighted throughout the Paper. The Commission would therefore like to invite all Stakeholders to provide any data available to facilitate the subsequent Impact Assessment of different bio-waste management options. Contributions to this consultation process should be sent to the Commission by 15 March 2009.

The Commission has presented its Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the European Union.

According to estimations, the total annual arising of bio-waste in the EU is estimated at 76.5-102 Mt food and garden waste included in mixed municipal solid waste and up to 37 Mt from the food and drink industry.

Today, very different national policies apply to bio-waste management, ranging from little action in some Member States to ambitious policies in others. This can lead to increased environmental impacts and can hamper or delay full utilisation of advanced bio-waste management techniques. It should be investigated whether action on national level would be sufficient to ensure proper bio-waste management in the EU, or whether Community action is needed.

The revised Waste Framework Directive calls upon the Commission to carry out an assessment of the management of bio-waste, with a view to submitting a proposal, if appropriate.

This Green Paper explores options for the further development of the management of bio-waste. It summarizes important background information about current policies on biowaste management and new research findings in the field, presents core issues for debate, and invites stakeholders to contribute their knowledge and views on the way forward – contributions to this consultation process should be sent to the Commission by 15 March 2009.

In particular, the Green Paper:

includes an overview of the current bio-waste management practices in the EU, and looks at the benefits and drawbacks of these methods, taking into account environmental, economic and social issues; looks at the impact of the existing regulatory measures. Bio-waste management is already subject to a number of EU and national legislative measures including obligatory diversion from landfills (Landfill Directive), encouragement of recycling (new Waste Framework Directive), incineration and composting (Incineration Directive, IPPC Directive, and Animal By-Products Regulation) and product standards and requirements (Organic Farming Regulation, the EU Ecolabel requirements for compost, national standards); examines additional measures including end-of-waste criteria for compost and guidelines for bio-waste management; considers the need for new legislation which could help direct more bio-waste towards recycling and energy recovery.

According to the Commission, ideas for discussion are as follows:

Better prevention of waste : the amount of bio-waste, although stabilized in recent years, has the potential to increase (especially in EU12). This may necessitate the strengthening of waste prevention policies.

Limiting landfilling : landfilling of bio-waste is in general the least desirable waste management solution and should be minimized. Still, in many Member States increased implementation efforts and additional enforcement measures may be necessary for many years to fully implement the Landfill Directive. It could therefore be useful to evaluate whether strengthening the current regulatory framework would bring additional environmental benefits. This could involve further action at EU level on the enforcement of the current provisions or, if necessary, strengthening the Directive. Equally, greater awareness of the alternatives and the associated revenues could promote a shift, especially if changes in infrastructure are financially supported.

Treatment options for biowaste diverted from landfill : once diverted from landfills, bio-waste can go through several treatment options. It is difficult to decide on the one single environmentally most beneficial bio-waste management option under all circumstances due to a large number of variables and local considerations that need to be taken into account. Management of diverted bio-waste should be addressed by additional measures supporting a move from simple pre-treatment for landfill and incineration with little or no energy recovery into incineration with high energy recovery, anaerobic digestion with biogas production and recycling of bio-waste. In addition to assessments to highlight the benefits, it could be further strengthened with targets for the maximum allowed amount of residual waste for disposal (landfilling or incineration without energy recovery) or other measures in order to direct more bio-waste towards material and energy recovery.

Improving energy recovery : to help reach renewable energy targets, energy recovery could be significantly enhanced by developments in the area of anaerobic digestion for production of biogas and by improving the efficiency of waste incineration, for example by using cogeneration of electricity and heat.

Increasing recycling : new action to strengthen the recycling of bio-waste could comprise three inter-related issues: recycling targets, rules for the quality and use of compost and supporting action in the shape of separate collection.

Contributing to Soil Improvement : to avoid the risk of soil pollution and strengthen user confidence, it could be necessary to introduce common standards on bio-waste treatment and compost quality.

Other uses of bio-waste : many planned and ongoing research activities aim at developing alternative means of exploiting residual biomass and bio-waste to address the climate change issue and soil quality deterioration. Further bio-waste treatment options are being explored at research level (e.g. biochar). It is necessary to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the advantages and disadvantages of biowaste management techniques.

In late 2009 , the Commission intends to present its analysis of the responses received together with, if appropriate, its proposals and/or initiatives for an EU strategy on the management of bio-waste.