Representatives of business and environmental groups have published a joint letter calling on EU politicians to support mandatory sorting of mixed household waste. According to them, this is the only way to achieve the EU's waste recycling goals, Euractiv writes, UNN reports.
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The authors of the letter call on the European Parliament to introduce an obligation for EU countries to sort mixed household waste. This means that recyclable materials will be removed before they are sent to incineration or landfills.
The appeal was supported by a coalition of 19 green non-profit organizations and business groups.
The European Parliament's Environment Committee is currently considering amendments to the proposed revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive put forward by the European Commission last year.
The proposed revision, presented in July, aims to combat textile and food waste and obliges all EU member states to collect used clothing and textiles to recycle them.
However, environmental groups argue that the revision should go beyond the initial focus on textiles and also address mixed waste - the residue left over after households sort paper, glass, metals, and plastics into separate containers.
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"Mandatory sorting of mixed waste is the only viable option" in cases where recyclable materials are not separately collected, the joint letter says.
According to the signatories, this is the only way to achieve the higher recycling targets set out in the Waste Framework Directive, which is currently under revision.
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