Circular Waste Management in Africa and EU #47-2023

South Africa

The Nation Cleaner Production of South Africa (NCPC-SA) was launched during the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) as a co-operation program between South Africa and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with financial assistance from the South African Department of Trade and Industry and the Governments of Austria and Switzerland. Since then many programs and activities have taken place, and currently 27 Industrial Parks and 15 Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) are in place in South Africa. A high number of smaller and privately-owned Industrial Parks (estimate at about 300), as well as municipality owned Industrial Parks (estimate at about 100) operate in South Africa. More to read: https://www.crown.co.za/latest-news/mechchem-africa-latest-news/26718-eco-industrial-parks-initiating-sustainable-production?s=09

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The Africa’s Green Economy Summit 2024 is a pivotal event aimed at catalyzing sustainable development across the African continent. This annual gathering brings together leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, government officials and environmentalists from across Africa and the world to explore innovative solutions for a greener and more economically vibrant Africa. At the summit, attendees engage in lively discussions, project showcases, roundtables, and presentations focused on harnessing Africa’s abundant natural resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The summit also serves as a platform for forging partnerships, attracting investments, and sharing best practices in green development. This 3-day deal-making platform showcases investable African projects from across Africa, both large and small scale, in closed and open deal making environments. Connecting stakeholders to deals and to fast-track the just transition is core to the objective of the Summit. More to read: https://savca.co.za/events/africas-green-economy-summit-2024.html/

The launch of the DFFE Separation at Source Project will be implemented in phased-approach. This project seeks to ensure that numbers of households participating in separation at source are increased, it also envisaged to ensure that the waste pickers incorporated in the separation at source program benefit from clean and non-contaminated materials. The project also seeks to build the recycling economy and improve livelihoods through integration of the informal sector and to better integrate waste pickers into the countries waste economy. The Municipal Cleaning and Greening Program will be implemented in 14 prioritized municipalities across the nine provinces through the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s EPWP mass employment In-House Model, which allows it to implement and manage projects using its own staff. More to read: https://www.dffe.gov.za/speech/sotyu_cleaninggreeningprogramme203launch

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France

The recitals of the decision of the Council of State based on the ‘PRO EcoDDS’ provide useful guidance on its interpretation of the EPR regulations. EcoDDS, the PRO for the specific diffuse waste sector (DDS; paints, solvents, coatings, chemicals, etc.) has not succeeded, at least this time, in reforming the regulations on extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems through the courts. Some of the arguments developed could be reused in other ongoing litigation on EPRs. Beyond the decision of the Council of State itself, it is interesting to read the arguments used by the magistrates to justify their decision, an argument that tends to reinforce and sometimes clarify the regulations on EPRs. We quote here the essence of these arguments, in the order in which they appear in the decision. For a more in-depth analysis, we of course invite you to refer to the decision itself. More to read: https://dechets-infos.com/decret-rep-ecodds-largement-deboute-de-son-recours-4930343.html

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The EPR intersectoral commission voted overwhelmingly against the draft new specifications for EPR household packaging and paper sector. The intersectoral commission is composed of 5 national directorates from 3 ministries (ecology, economy, local authority, overseas). Measures to meet recycling targets are considered insufficient. For the first time, not all state representatives voted in the same way. Such a vote probably reflects disagreements, so as not to not say probable tensions within the government on this sector and what should be done with it. The document is under public comments. More than 120 entities have added their remarks, both on a technical point of view (as for example on the limitation of the reuse of packaging). More to read: https://www.consultations-publiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/projet-d-arrete-portant-cahier-des-charges-des-eco-a2937.html?lang=fr&debut_forums=100#pagination_forums ??

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EU & Other countries

A week of negotiations in Nairobi left all options on the table for a proposed Global Plastic Treaty but fell far short of the progress needed to deliver an ambitious treaty on an equally ambitious timeline. Governments that began the week with a Zero Draft of the treaty text and a clear mandate to agree on an active intersessional program of work are leaving eight days later with a “Revised Zero Draft” that has ballooned to 100 plus pages,?with no intersessional agenda,?and?a clear warning that entertaining endless debate by those few who want to block progress at every turn is a recipe for inertia and eventual disaster. “This week made clear that an overwhelming majority of countries demand an ambitious treaty that covers the full lifecycle of plastics,” said CIEL President Carroll Muffett. “That treaty is still achievable in these talks, but only if negotiators acknowledge and confront the coordinated campaign by fossil fuel and petrochemical exporters to prevent real progress of any kind.” Alongside exporting countries themselves, INC-3 saw a massive presence in the industries that make plastics and plastic feedstocks (143 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered for the negotiations – including on country delegations). “The results this week are no accident,” said David Azoulay, Program Director for Environmental Health at CIEL. “Progress on plastics will be impossible if Member States do not confront and address the fundamental reality of industry influence in this process.”? The negotiations also faced calls by the United States to replace concrete global commitments with catchy buzzwords and unenforceable promises – an approach that lowers ambition while ignoring the demands of frontline and fenceline communities in the United States itself. More to read: https://www.ciel.org/news/inc-3-reaction/

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#EUCircularTalks: Waste Framework Directive - Paving the way for a circular Textiles Industry Webinar 5/12/2023. More to read: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/Waste-Framework-Directive-Textile

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Advocating Extended Producer Responsibility for fishing gear. More to read: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63933dd8487359657dfa1563/t/63d12cb874e77a668360d524/1674652856845/Position%2Bpaper-EPR%2Bfishing%2Bgear%2Band%2Bropes%2B-%2Bfinal1.pdf

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Bureau International Recycling (BIR) is worried that EPR schemes will disrupt existing efficient markets and should only be introduced as an absolute necessity. It argues that recyclers should be involved in any governance arrangements to ensure an appropriate balance of interests among the most relevant stakeholders in the value chain. The stance from the global federation of recycling industries comes in its first?position paper on EPR, a month after the initiative was promised at its convention in Abu Dhabi. BIR says other policies to increase circularity ahead of EPR include legally binding recycled content targets and making design for recycling mandatory. Such measures can increase demand for recycled materials and level the playing field with extracted raw materials, it argues. More to read: https://www.bir.org/news-press/news/news-featured/bir-publishes-first-position-paper-on-epr

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An innovative process, known as Baffled Oscillation Separation System or BOSS, sorts the waste plastics by spinning them in water meaning that different materials either sink or float, depending on their density. From hard-to-recycle flexible plastics typically used in food packaging the process produces pellets which can be used to replace virgin plastic films in construction and agriculture, as well as or to make bin bags. More to read: https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/nestle-invests-7m-in-recycling-facility-to-help-deal-with-hard-to-recycle-plastics/

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The handbook on circular bio-waste management handbook for local authorities is intended for a diverse audience, including waste managers, urban planners, environmental protection officers, procurers, and politicians seeking a deeper understanding of the subject. It is divided into two main sections. The first section focuses on how to implement circularity, while the second centers on enabling circularity, with a specific emphasis on bio-waste and biological cycles. More to read: https://circulars.iclei.org/resource/the-circular-bio-waste-management-handbook-for-local-authorities/

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UK start-up Advanced Electric Machines has raised EUR 26.4 million to develop electric vehicle (EV) motors which do not need rare earth metals.?The investment round will also enable the company to start producing an EV motor that is free of copper. The notable benefit for recyclers has to do with the melting of metals. Copper and steel have the same melting point, for example, so it’s hard to recycle motors containing copper. Widmer says his company’s aluminium and steel motors can be ‘easily recycled’ after being melted in a furnace. More to read: https://recyclinginternational.com/non-ferrous-metals/fully-recyclable-car-motors-without-rare-earths/55568/?utm_source=nieuwsbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11/27/2023&utm_source=Eisma+Industriemedia&utm_campaign=5bf08d11b6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_17_08_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_978429473f-5bf08d11b6-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&goal=0_978429473f-5bf08d11b6-223538096&mc_cid=5bf08d11b6&mc_eid=161eac9929

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In USA, the packaging industry is witnessing a steady shift towards enhancing consumer engagement and compliance with local recycling regulations through the use of dynamic labeling. This approach, which includes QR codes, is not a novel concept but has gained traction as a means to provide consumers with real-time, location-specific recycling information. General Mills, a prominent player in the food industry, has been at the forefront of adopting these labeling strategies. The company is currently piloting the Recycle Check product, which complements the How2Recycle label they adopted early on. The Recycle Check system allows consumers to scan a QR code to ascertain the recyclability of a product based on their local municipality's capabilities. This initiative reflects a growing consumer demand for clarity on the end-of-life options for packaging. The Recycling Partnership, a key stakeholder in this initiative, houses the data that powers these dynamic labels. The organization maintains a comprehensive database of over 9,000 recycling programs across the United States, which informs the information provided to consumers upon scanning the QR codes. This data-driven approach ensures that brands like General Mills are not arbitrarily determining the recyclability of their packaging but are relying on verified information. More to read: https://www.packworld.com/news/sustainability/article/22878877/navigating-the-future-of-recycling-the-role-of-dynamic-labels

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Launch of the ISWA “Waste and Resources Pavilion” at COP28: Pioneering Global Sustainability Through Waste Management. Other event includes the launch of the waste map: Methane emissions tracking, satellite actionable data. More to read: https://www.iswa.org/iswa-at-unfccc-cop/?v=68caa8201064 and COP28 Draft Technical Program 08.11.xlsx (iswa.org)

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Amendments to the directive agreed by EU Council and EU Parliament on the EEE Waste. The provisional agreement reached by the co-legislators endorses the content of the Commission’s initial proposal and further clarifies the links to relevant provisions in the waste framework directive. The proposed amendments clarify that: (i) the costs of the management and disposal of waste from?photovoltaic panels?placed on the market after 13 August 2012 rest with the producer of the EEE; (ii) extended producer responsibility for EEE products that were added to the scope of the directive in 2018 should apply to those e-products that were put on the market after that date. More to read: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/11/21/waste-from-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-council-and-parliament-agree-on-deal-to-align-with-court-ruling/

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This week, EU MEPs eliminated and weakened some of the most effective measures the packaging regulation (PPWR) had for genuinely reducing waste. Many officials said the level of industry lobby is unprecedented. The Joint Research Centre (EU research body) should soon publish its environmental analysis of Reuse scenarios. It should help having some more facts together on the true impact of such systems and guide the discussions between the Commission, the Member States and the Parliament that will happen in the next months. More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/ppwr-parliament-decision-summary-hatem-salem-kj6ye%3FtrackingId=Srk2RqRaQzOt5vjwbSz7Iw%253D%253D/?trackingId=K90oQ4i0QWiO1PVqdjxNIQ%3D%3D and more details: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/ppwr-unpacked-part-14-parliament-decides-negotiating-martin-engelmann-dga3e%3FtrackingId=siYOWl62RHWorZSWRQ%252BxGA%253D%253D/?trackingId=siYOWl62RHWorZSWRQ%2BxGA%3D%3D