Some stakeholders believe that mixed waste sorting systems before thermal treatment and disposal is the silver bullet that allows the waste management sector to achieve the EU’s circular economy objectives.

This is the result of a recent study published on 16 February 2023 and also reflected in some amendment proposals within the ongoing revisions of the Renewable Energies Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive.

However, this is a dangerous message as it undermines years of awareness raising and investments made by the sector to implement and ensure the functionality of source separation of municipal waste by our citizens. Source separation is mandatory under the Waste Framework Directive precisely to ensure quality recycling. Consequently, separately collected waste shall not be incinerated nor landfilled. Exceptions to separate collection are possible in specific circumstances, and only then, a prior mixed sorting system should play a role. FEAD strongly supports the improvement and increase of ‘source separation’ as the most efficient and effective way to ensure quality recycling.

In addition to source separation, the implementation of mandatory deposit return schemes in the EU is foreseen in the Commission’s proposal to revise the current Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. This will already prevent the biggest part of effectively recyclable waste from being incinerated or landfilled, as will be the case of PET bottles or aluminium cans, which may still be found in mixed municipal waste streams as common ‘to-go’ consumables. Taking the example of Germany, where the separate collection rate is one of the highest in the EU, with a mature EPR and deposit return system, the recent study itself determines that further improvements in plastic packaging collection rates are difficult to achieve.