Weekly Newsletter on Circular Waste Management in Africa and EU #23-2023

South Africa

“Urgent action is required to combat plastic pollution and its detrimental impacts on human health, the economy and the environment. Today we are marking World Environment Day and I am visiting two recycling plants in Cape Town that are supported through producer responsibility organisations to gain insights into the roles extended producer responsibility schemes are playing in plastic recycling” said the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy. More to read: https://www.dffe.gov.za/mediarelease/creecy_wed2023plasticpollution

Petco, the PRO offers an EPR scheme for liquid board?packaging ?(LBP) in addition to EPR scheme for PET. In 2022 and on behalf of its members, Petco invested R54.9-million (About 2,57 million Euros) in support of the collection and recycling value chain, helping to improve the integration of the informal collection sector, increase the street value of recyclable?waste ?and build the capacity of its contracted recycling partners. In 2022, Petco members placed 121 369 t?of?packaging ?on the South African market, comprising mainly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles, home and personal care bottles, edible oil bottles, food bottles and jars, plus their associated labels and closures, as well as minor volumes of PET strapping, shrink sleeves and thermoforms. More to read: https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/major-south-african-brands-are-meeting-plastic-collection-recovery-targets-says-petco-2023-06-08

France

In France, the recycling and recovery (composting versus waste2energy) of waste from gardening including its carbon content is being discussed. For one panelist at the RISPO conference, policy should preserve both sectors in place and also allow for a distinction between streams to be composted and to methanized.?More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/bilan-des-assises-de-lorganique-organis%C3%A9e-par-le-rispo-%C3%A0-paris/

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France is modifying the procedure of exit from the status of waste. It proposes, with Article 4?of the Green Industry Bill , to authorize the exit from the status of waste, as soon as an operator takes responsibility. As for residues from industrial platforms reused on site, the executive proposes that they no longer take the status of waste. More to read: https://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/projet-loi-industrie-verte-sortie-statut-dechets-implicite-41947.php4

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France wants to encourage manufacturers to use standard glass packaging, bottles or jars, reusable indifferently by various brands. The two major glass manufacturers have signed a memorandum of understanding to market some thirty models of reusable glass containers. The agri-food industry will be able to obtain these standard containers, which can be suitable for the greatest number of production lines. The aim is for the consumer to return the empty container to their shop or supermarket, against payment of a deposit. More to read: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/consigne-en-verre-le-gouvernement-soutient-la-creation-d-une-filiere-nationale-3416214

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Guide to accounting for avoided GHG emissions in waste recovery and recycling good practices and application to different sectors. More to read: https://record-net.org/storage/etudes/21-1026-1A/synthese/Synth_record21-1026_1A.pdf

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·??????how the French agri-supply waste sector works? More to read: https://www.adivalor.fr/actualites/index_detail.html?r_id=2829&choice=2023-05&th=98

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A monitoring platform for anaerobic digestion sites for RED II certification. In view of the implementation of the European directive on the promotion of the use of energy produced from renewable sources, known as "RED 2",?France Gaz Renouvelables ?has set up a monitoring and calculation platform available to biogas producers and auditors. This platform will allow ‘methaniser farmers’ to France prepare their certification made mandatory by the directive. More to read: https://www.bioenergie-promotion.fr/96137/une-plateforme-de-suivi-des-sites-de-methanisation-pour-la-certification-red-ii/

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The estimate production of biowaste at school restaurant/cafeteria is about 0.1 kg per meal served. In the case of large food stores, the estimate is 11,1 kg/m2/year. More to read: https://librairie.ademe.fr/cadic/7832/st_biodechets_gros_producteurs.pdf

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A senator asked the government to look into the possibility on the specific case of updates of smartphones and the new sustainability index for electric and electronical products. He asked the Government whether it was possible to take into account manufacturers' commitment to repair potential negative impacts resulting from updates to the sustainability index criteria free of charge in order to combat software obsolescence of products. The move towards the sustainability index is an essential and long-awaited measure for citizens and it is also crucial for the climate and natural resources. Indeed, up to 80% of the environmental impact of electrical and electronic devices is concentrated in the manufacturing phase. In particular, it has been shown that updates for?smartphones can lead to significant slowdowns and malfunctions and in some cases restrict the repair of the phone, leading to significant additional costs for consumers and premature replacement of the product concerned. In this situation, the user should be provided free of charge with a technical solution or repair of the malfunction or performance loss caused, for example by allowing him to revert to the previous version of the update of his product, which is usually not authorized by the manufacturer. In view of the stakes, it seems important to value in a criterion of the sustainability index the commitment of the manufacturer to compensate free of charge any damage resulting from an update he has provided. More to read: https://questions.assemblee-nationale.fr/q16/16-5446QE.htm

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Policy on disposable vaping products is becoming stricter and PROs are asked to work on the development of malus aimed at financially sanctioning producers of disposable vaping products and encouraging them to eco-design them. Indeed,?vaping products pose two major problems in terms of eco-design: their single-use and non-reusable nature; the non-removable nature of the lithium battery, which presents fire hazards when transporting waste, then in landfills and treatment centers. More to read: https://www.senat.fr/basile/visio.do?id=qSEQ230406335&idtable

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Article 62 of the Law on the fight against waste and the circular economy (AGEC) established in 2020 the establishment of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) sector applied to single-use sanitary textiles (including nappies), with its implementation no later than 1 January 2024. This EPR sector covers products intended for use by individuals and professionals. The first results of the prefiguration study (assessment, feasibility) of the future EPR sector of single-use sanitary textiles have just been presented. According to initial estimates, the Public Waste Management Service (SPGD) collects nearly 90% of all single-use sanitary textile waste. At this stage of the reflections, the sector does not plan to support sanitary textiles collected in mixtures either in residual waste or in sanitation networks. More to read: https://amorce.asso.fr/actualite/vers-une-filiere-REP-des-textiles-sanitaires-au-rabais-c-est-du-propre

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In the world

Food industry pushes back on UK recycling scheme. UK retailers and food manufacturers are ramping up their efforts to delay the government’s launch of its extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling scheme. More to read: ??https://www.just-food.com/news/food-industry-pushes-back-on-uk-recycling-scheme/

This UNEP report shows that only an integrated, systemic shift from a linear to a circular economy can keep plastics out of our ecosystems and bodies, and in the economy. Studies show that reuse systems provide the highest opportunity to reduce plastic pollution (a reduction of 30% by 2040) by replacing some of the most problematic and unnecessary products. Accelerating the market for plastics recycling by ensuring recycling becomes a more stable and profitable venture could reduce the amount of plastic pollution by an additional 20% by 2040. Shaping the market for plastic alternatives to enable sustainable substitutions could reduce pollution by 17 % by 2040. However, even with the market transformation approach, a significant volume of plastics will not be made circular in the next 10 to 20 years and will require disposal solutions to prevent pollution. This refers to collecting and responsibly disposing of plastics that cannot be reused or recycled, including plastics that are already in the environment as existing pollution, or are stocked or will enter in the economy e.g. in short-lived or durable products designed without considering their circularity or long-term use in the economy. It also refers to new ways of financing collection and disposal of legacy plastics and preventing microplastics from entering the economy and the environment. More to read: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/42277/Plastic_pollution.pdf?sequence=4

Akouédo lies a dozen or so kilometers east of Abidjan, the Ivory Coast capital. In 2018, the national government decided to close the 90-hectare landfill site that had been operating here for the past 43 years. About 18 million tonnes of waste were dumped on the ground. At the origin of many pollutions, the closure of the landfill is the result of environmental reflection and a political will to improve the living conditions of local populations and those downstream of this highly polluted site. The rehabilitation project was entrusted to PFO Africa, which Seureca is supporting under a project management contract for the rehabilitation of the land occupied by the landfill. The rehabilitation aims to contain the waste beds and provides: remodeling of the surface and slopes; the implementation of a waterproof cover; collection of water, leachate and biogas; leachate treatment; energy recovery from biogas. In addition, this project is part of a logic of social support for populations near the site. More to see: ?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8D-F0bK1E8 (english translation available)

The European Environment Agency call for a special focus that should be paid on?reducing use and increasing recycling of non-metallic minerals, such as construction materials, as these account for about half of all materials used in the EU. In fact, the EU has an ambition to double the circular use of material (this share of recycled material is known as the circular material use rate-CMUR). From an environmental perspective, it would also be beneficial to focus efforts on materials with the highest negative impacts in their production, especially reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and making biomass production more sustainable. More to read:?https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/how-far-is-europe-from

Brazil recently became the first country in the world to achieve a 100% recycling rate for aluminum cans, according to reports. How was this landmark achieved, and how can this success be replicated in Europe??And in Africa. More to read: ?https://packagingeurope.com/comment/how-did-brazil-achieve-its-100-aluminium-can-recycling-rate-and-can-it-be-replicated-in-the-eu/9897.article?sourcecode=pe-linkedin

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Many EU Member States not on track to meet recycling targets for municipal waste and packaging waste. More to read: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/many-eu-member-states/

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Processors worry they’ll be left out of packaging EPR system in Ontario. More to read: https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2023/05/08/processors-worry-theyll-be-left-out-of-packaging-epr-system/

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Packaging EPR bill gets end-of-session push in New York . More to read: https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2023/06/06/packaging-epr-bill-gets-end-of-session-push-in-new-york/