The European Parliament adopted a resolution on waste management tabled by the Committee on Petitions.

Parliament recalled the numerous petitions submitted on the failure of Member States to implement waste legislation. These petitions point to various health and environmental problems linked to inappropriate waste management practices, such as poor air quality in urban areas, contamination of underground water resources, excessive noise levels and odorous emissions.

In order to support the transition towards a more circular economy, Members considered that public financing of waste management, whether at national or EU level, should be consistent with the goal of shifting upwards in the implementation of the waste hierarchy. The funds should, therefore, be directed towards prevention, reuse, separate collection and recycling plans and projects.

Member States were called on to:

make more progress in setting out effective plans and projects for prevention, reuse, separate collection and recycling; take measures to clean up litter and improve waste management (collection, sorting and recycling), and to adopt economic instruments and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent littering; mitigate the environmental impacts of waste generation, in particular by reducing the amount of municipal waste generation; improve their engagement, alongside the industries, in promoting circular supply chains, in order to gain access to high-quality secondary raw materials, often at competitive prices, that should be recovered for further use and production; ensure full transparency over the volume and end destination of residues from different waste treatment options, especially in respect of those communities that are potentially affected by sites and new projects, and to consult them in the decision-making process; implement fully and thoroughly the provisions of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive) and other relevant EU legislation aimed at protecting the environment and public health; fully implement the provisions of the Waste Framework Directive relevant to the management of hazardous waste; ensure full protection of human health and to adopt structural measures aimed at finding a solution to groundwater contamination.

Parliament welcomed the Commission’s willingness to undertake high-level circular economy/waste visits to Member States which are at risk of not meeting the 2020 municipal waste targets and to engage with relevant stakeholders, including associations of local and regional actors and Europe-wide organisations that are genuinely promoting a zero waste culture and associated policies. The Commission should reward best practices at all levels and facilitate their exchange, as well as to concretely and adequately support pioneering projects.

Parliament gave its support to the Commission in its ongoing infringement procedures against Member States not complying with the waste legislation. It suggested that penalty fines collected by the Commission should be reinvested in projects that are consistent with the highest levels of the waste hierarchy.