On 19 and 20 September, the Technical Assistance Information Exchange (TAIEX) workshop on bio-waste management took place in Brussels, where civil servants, NGOs, business associations, and stakeholders had the chance to share their experiences.
This dissemination instrument is designed to provide support to public administrations with regard to the application and the enforcement of the EU legislation, as well as sharing best practices and financing opportunities. During the event organised by EU Commission’s DG Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), bio-waste related topics were discussed, highlighting the opportunities and the bottlenecks faced by the sector. More specifically, as of 1 January 2023, Member States will be required to implement a separate collection of bio-waste (as per art. 22 WFD). This workshop was an opportunity for local and regional authorities which have yet to implement management schemes for this waste stream. Indeed, speakers emphasised the key enabling role played by the recycling of bio-waste in achieving the objectives set out within the EU Green Deal framework. The Commission warned that the amount of waste generated in the EU is increasing, with many Member States risking to not meet both general and specific targets laid down in the Waste Framework Directive; and that they will come forward with a food reduction target to be introduced in the revised version of the WFD.
ECN was among the organisations invited to present their work and called on the Commission to also set binding targets for the recycling of bio-waste and a limit on the amount of bio-waste collected together with the residual waste stream. Many Member States were represented and shared their experiences in implementing the WFD, with some countries performing stronger than others.
If you are interested to know more, speakers have shared their presentations online and can be accessed here.