How to calculate bio-waste as recycled?
On 20 June 2019 the ‘COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2019/1004 of 7 June 2019 laying down rules for the calculation, verification and reporting of data on waste in accordance with Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Implementing Decision C(2012) 2384’ was published in the EU Official Journal L163.
Article 4 of the Implementation decision lays down the calculation rules for municipal bio-waste separated and recycled at source pursuant to Article 11a(4) of Directive 2008/98/EC:
1. The amount of recycled municipal bio-waste entering aerobic or anaerobic treatment shall only include materials that actually undergo aerobic or anaerobic treatment and shall exclude all materials, including biodegradable material, which are mechanically removed during or after the recycling operation.
2. As from 1 January 2027, Member States may count municipal bio-waste as recycled only if it is:
b) collected together with waste with similar biodegradability and compostability properties, in
accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 22(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC; or
c) separated and recycled at source.
3. Member States shall apply the methodology laid down in Annex II to calculate the amount of municipal bio-waste separated and recycled at source.
4. The amount of municipal bio-waste separated and recycled at source determined pursuant to paragraph 3 shall be included both in the amount of municipal waste recycled and in the total amount of municipal waste generated.
With regard to the calculation of bio-waste separated and recycled at source, the actual measurement of the input to or the output of the recycling operation is not always feasible since such waste is commonly managed by individual households. Therefore, a sound common approach that ensures a high level of reliability of the reported data should be established by the Member State. Annex II describes the ‘Methodology for calculating municipal bio-waste separated and recycled at source referred to in Article 4(3) in detail.