EU environmental targets
The EU Commission sets out a number of environmental targets to measure the efficiency of legislation. The key measurement points not only relate to the performance of the member country regarding collection of end-of-life products, but also each producer’s resource utilisation of old products.
Targets for collection, recycling, and recovery
Environmental targets relate to two measurement points:
- Collection rate
- The quantity in percent of end-of-life products collected in relation to quantity of new products placed on the market.
- Recycling and recovery rates
- The quantity in percent of volumes collected and sent for environmental treatment that have actually become new products or secondary raw materials.
What is environmental treatment?
Treatment
Re-use
Re-use or rather preparation for re-use (FtG)
Treatment processes in the form of cleaning, repair and control with a view to the product being used again in the same form. A standard sets the criteria for these prosesses.
Treatment
Recycling
Recycling:
Treatment methods are product disassembly, separation, processing, remelting etc. of materials and substances into new secondary raw materials.
Treatment
Recovery
Cogeneration and incineration
After materials and substances have been removed for recycling, there is a residue of materials that have a good calorific value. Therefore, you can treat e.g. plastic and rubber when incinerated in a plant that produces both electricity and heat. Recycling, reuse and incineration are collectively referred to as recovery.
Monitoring method
Efficiency
Environmental treatment of batteries is monitored in efficiency. Incineration and landfill is not an accepted as treatment method and the recycling criteria varies depending on type of battery and substance content.
Calculation method for batteries
EU and EUROSTAT
Calculation of environmental targets
There are a number of guidelines and regulations stipulating how each Member State must compute quantities when they calculate the environmental targets.
See guidelines for reporting of environmental targets