In September 2005, the European Commission proposed an overhaul of the 1975 European Waste Framework Directive. The idea was to lay down rules on recycling and require Member States to draw up national programmes for cutting waste production.

The revised European Waste Framework Directive (WFD) sets recycling targets of 50 per cent for household waste and 70 per cent for construction and demolition waste by 2020, for all EU countries. A five-category legal hierarchy for dealing with waste is also proposed: prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, safe and environmentally-sound disposal. This is along with a clarified definition on 'end of waste' status, and incineration being classed as 'recovery' if it meets specific energy efficiency standards. The Commission has stated that – if appropriate – it will propose the setting of waste prevention and decoupling objectives for 2020 by end 2014.

Commenting on the revised WFD, Rapporteur Caroline Jackson MEP said: "The adoption of this directive is an important moment for the European Parliament because we have transformed it. MEPs have now added recycling targets and put a new emphasis on waste prevention. We have thus given real meaning to the Commission's desire to create a recycling society.

"Anyone who still criticises the package we have agreed has to realise that the alternative may not be a better package, but no package at all – a return to the 1975 directive with no targets and with none of the new definitions and clarities which the draft directive will introduce. This is as good as we are going to get – and it's very good."

Indeed, according to reports, the waste industry has welcomed the changes. Ross Bartley, Environmental and Technical Director of BIR, noted. “Early waste management laws defined so easily what constituted waste. But now, to encourage higher standards of recycling and the marketing of better-quality recyclables, the European Parliament’s setting of conditions for ‘waste to cease to be waste’ is much needed.”

Nevertheless, some claim that the recycling targets are inadequate, and have been left disappointed by the lack of waste prevention targets: While the new directive will oblige Member States to establish waste management plans and waste prevention programmes with waste prevention objectives, there is no concrete legislation.

Michael Warthurst, Senior Resource Use Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, told Resource: “It is disappointing that there was a large amount of opposition from Member States for waste prevention targets. There’s this extraordinary assumption that the more economic growth you have the more waste you have to produce, and that’s not true. Municipal waste volumes are actually moving towards a stabilisation. Waste prevention has been in the WFD since 1975, but there just hasn’t been the drive behind it. We would like to see the government setting waste prevention targets now.

The inclusion of incineration as ‘waste recovery’ has also frustrated some. In fact, Members were divided over whether incineration of municipal solid waste should be regarded as a ‘disposal’ or a ‘recovery’ operation. However, according to the Commission only the most energy efficient existing municipal solid waste incinerators will be classified as recovery installations.

“There’s a real danger, with so much money going into residual waste treatment, that what you are going to get is lots of incinerators being built, and being fed with commercial and industrial waste that is, in fact, very, very recyclable in general. You end up with a ridiculous situation where it should be being recycled, but there are no targets and policy drivers,” commented Warhurst. “That’s why we want to introduce some market mechanisms for commercial and industrial waste, such as incineration tax and a ban of incineration and landfill of recyclables.”

The WFD needs now to be approved by the EU Council of Ministers to become law. This is scheduled for October.