June 2024:
A quick scan of recent waste, recycling and related environmental developments from around the globe...
New Norwegian Regulations Set Waste Separation and Sorting Requirements
While not a European Union (EU) Member State, Norway often harmonizes its laws and regulations with those of the EU, a major trading and economic partner. On May 28, the Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) announced new regulations have been approved to bring Norwegian waste separation and sorting practices in harmony with ones recently approved by the EU. Local governments will provide the containers and collection services to implement the regulations.
"We have to shrink our residual waste," said Ellen Hambro, Miljødirektoratet Director. "In order for Norway to reach the EU's waste targets, you and I must do the job of sorting the waste correctly, whether we are at home, at work or in the cabin. The municipalities and business must facilitate this and ensure separate collection of more waste."
The materials to be separated and sorted include cardboard, paper, glass and metal packaging and textiles. EU regulations require residents and businesses to reuse and recycle 65% of household waste by 2035. Only about 37% of municipal solid waste currently is recycled or reused in Norway, according to the Miljødirektoratet.
The new Norwegian regulations are currently being finalized and are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025.
For more information, go to
https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/aktuelt/nyheter/2024/mai-2024/vi-ma-sortere-fleire-typar-avfall-i-2025/
Quebec Government Advisory Committee Recommends Adopting New Regulations to Reduce Construction and Demolition Waste
On June 5, RECYC-QUÉBEC said a government advisory committee of 15 experts in the construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) sector has recommended the government "move forward with measures specific to CRD residues by creating, by regulation or otherwise, barriers to landfilling." RECYC-QUÉBEC said that nearly a third of all solid waste generated in the Canadian province is CRD waste.
"RECYC-QUÉBEC is determined to transform the construction, renovation and demolition waste management sector into a model of sustainability and innovation," said RECYC-QUÉBEC President and CEO Emmanuelle Géhin. "We call on all industry partners to work closely with us to implement these recommendations and achieve our shared vision. The success of this initiative relies on our collective commitment and our ability to innovate together for a greener and more sustainable future."
Get more information at
https://www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/communiques-de-presse/recyc-quebec-sattaque-aux-residus-de-construction-renovation-demolition-crd-en-collaboration-avec-lindustrie/
New South Wales Launches Public Consultation on Possible Landfill Tax Increase to Boost Recycling
The New South Wales (NSW) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) launched a public consultation on June 4 on a possible a landfill tax increase. According to the EPA, "the waste levy is an important tool to promote resource recovery over landfilling waste. The NSW Government is seeking feedback on how it can be improved to drive resource recovery further.
The consultation invites the public to respond to six questions. Among them are:
- How can we streamline waste levy deduction requirements and processes?
- How can we best prevent opportunities for operators to avoid lawful disposal costs in NSW through illegal or unsustainable activity?
- What other actions do you think the NSW Government could do to support the circular economy objectives of the waste levy?
NSW recycles about 65% of its municipal solid waste, and waste generation in the Australian state is projected to increase by 16 million tons between 2021 and 2041.
The public consultation closes on July 15.
For more information, go to
https://yoursay.epa.nsw.gov.au/nsw-waste-levy-review
Compliance Scheme WEEE Ireland Says It Recycled a Record Amount of E-Waste in 2023
According to a June 17 announcement by WEEE Ireland, one of the country's two e-waste compliance schemes, the organization recycled "a record-breaking 41,730 tons of electronic and electrical waste in 2023 – the equivalent of almost 200 forty-foot containers more than the previous year." That top line statistic is from the latest WEEE Ireland annual report.
"Over 15 million small appliances such as coffee makers, calculators, kettles and keyboards, along with the equivalent of 66 million used AA batteries were also handed back to make their way into the circular economy," the announcement stated. Around 750,000 waste vapes (e-cigarettes) were collected during the first year of a collection scheme for the lithium battery-containing devices.
Download the WEEE Ireland annual report at
Download the WEEE Ireland annual report at
https://www.weeeireland.ie/weee-annual-environmental-report-2023/
Dutch Government Makes €49 Million Available to Companies to Explore Making Plastics More Circular
€49 Million in government subsidies to Dutch companies will be made available to investigate how they can use more circular plastic, according to a June 3 announcement by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The subsidies will be available until 2030.
The funding will be used by companies to "carry out technical tests to investigate whether they can replace part of the fossil plastic in their production process with recycled or bio-based plastic." The Ministry noted that only about 8% of plastic products in the Netherlands are made from recyclate, and less are made from bio-based plastic.
"We want to get rid of the use of fossil raw materials," said Minister Mark Harbers. "Not only as an energy source, but also as a raw material for things we make, such as plastic. The goal is for the Netherlands to be climate neutral and fully circular by 2050. This means an economy in which we continue to reuse raw materials and virtually no waste remains. We really need the business community for this and with subsidies like these we help them make the transition from fossil to renewable raw materials."
The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management announcement is posted at
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/ministeries/ministerie-van-infrastructuur-en-waterstaat/nieuws/2024/06/03/subsidie-bedrijven-voor-onderzoek-naar-circulair-plastic
Colombian Government Launches Plastics Action Platform
A Colombian Plastics Action Platform recently was launched by the Ministry of the Environment, according to a June 14 government announcement. The action platform has support from the the World Economic Forum and the Government of the United Kingdom.
"This platform brings together various actors from the National Government, the private sector, the informal economy, civil society and academia," the announcement explained. "Its main objective is to promote the development of knowledge and facilitate the exchange of ideas and practices, supporting concrete and effective actions for the transition towards a circular model in plastics management."
The platform also will "seek to establish governance structures in the territories, install working groups focused on the impact and knowledge about plastics, implement a community of action, develop a national baseline and modeling of future scenarios on plastics, and define models of financing projects," the announcement added.
The complete Colombian Ministry of Environment announcement is posted at
https://www.minambiente.gov.co/con-nueva-plataforma-colombia-continua-la-ruta-hacia-la-eliminacion-de-la-contaminacion-por-plasticos/
European Environment Agency Says Circular Plastics Are Increasing But at a "Slow Pace"
The European Environment Agency (EEA), a Europen Union government body, said on June 18 that while mechanical recycling capacity of plastics is increasing, recycled content in plastics is increasing, and EU exports of plastic waste are decreasing, "the circularity of plastics material is increasing at a slow pace."
The EEA also said a new monitoring tool is now being used by the agency to track "unsustainable patterns of plastics production and consumption." The tool was developed by EEA's Circularity Metrics Lab.
"Levels of plastics production and consumption are high and expected to grow in the future," the EEA said in a briefing paper released the same day. In 2020, per capita plastics consumption increased to 107 kg/per year, making the European Union one of the world's highest per capita consumers of plastics.
"In 2020, the packaging sector and the building and construction sector consumed more than half of plastics in Europe, followed by: automotive; electrical and electronic appliances; houseware, leisure and sports; agriculture, farming and gardening; and the textiles sectors," according to the briefing.
For more information, go to
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/new-eea-monitoring-tool-on-plastics-circularity
Czech Ministry of Environment "Experiment" Finds Only Half of PET Bottles Are Actually Being Recycled
Earlier this month, the Czech Ministry of Environment announced the result of an "experiment" to gauge how many PET bottles actually are being recycled in the country. The experiment involved affixing electronic chips to 100 PET bottles to follow them using the Internet of Things (IoT).
"In the current system, only 75% of PET bottles can be sorted," said Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík. "In this light, the experiment showed that out of all PET bottles sold, only one in two (58.9%) has a real chance of being recycled. And that's even assuming that all the PET bottles that reach the sorters will be sent to recycling centers, and not for energy use."
Most household waste PET bottles in the Czech Republic are collected in curbside recycling bins. The experiment found that 19.3% of the bottles go to recycling centers; 39.6% remain in waste sorting facilities or collection yards for many months; 11.8% go to landfills or similar destinations; and 4.3% of the bottles end up at "other locations. About a tenth of Czech waste PET bottles are exported to other countries.
The Czech Ministry of Environment announcement is posted at
https://www.mzp.cz/cz/news_20240606_Unikatni-experiment-ministerstva-Jen-kazda-druha-PET-lahev-putuje-k-recyklaci