Germany asked to re-think draft waste law

Germany – A draft law drawn up by Germany to implement the EU’s Waste Framework Directive (WFD) contravenes the directive’s waste hierarchy and should be revised, according to the European Commission. Germany plans to rank incineration of any waste with a calorific value over 11 000 kilojoules per kg as equal to recycling. But in a response to a parliamentary question, the European Commission has said that this does not conform with a waste hierarchy which prioritises recycling over incineration. The European Commission claims to have notified the German government about its concerns in July, while the German chapter of waste industry association FEAD has also expressed disquiet about the draft law.
The WFD allows specific waste streams to deviate from the hierarchy where there is evidence that it provides the best environmental outcome. But the European Commission expresses doubt as to whether incineration of high-calorie waste will always be better than recycling. The German government intends to issue a formal response to the matter following meetings with the Commission in September.
The deadline for transposing the WFD was December 2010 but several countries have still not introduced implementing legislation.