La Directive biodéchets progresse[en] 

Biowaste accounts for 30%-45% of municipal solid waste in Europe.

The European Commission defines biowaste as biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises, and comparable waste from food processing plants. The definition does not include forestry or agricultural residues, manure, sewage, sludge or other biodegradable waste, such as natural textiles, paper or processed wood. 

The main environmental threat from biowaste is methane production in landfill. Methane is said to be over 20 times more environmentally harmful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The EU's Landfill Directive obliges member states to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste in landfill by 65% by 2016 compared to 1995 levels. But it does not give countries binding specifications on what to do with it: a situation that has led most member states to opt for incineration.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), biowaste management in the EU 27 differs widely, with member states divided into three groups: those relying on incineration, those with high recovery rates and those with a lot of landfill.

In December 2008, the Commission published a Green Paper on biowaste management in the EU, and launched a consultation process to gather opinions on whether a specific stand-alone EU Biowaste Directive is needed.

The Environment Council last week (25 June) adopted conclusions on the Commission's Green Paper on biowaste management.

The 27 ministers expressed concerns about the increasing volume of waste, which they said "represents a major source of greenhouse gases and other pollution when placed in landfill". They also agreed that improved biowaste management could contribute to fighting climate change and help improve soil quality via compost.

However, they urged the Commission to take into account local conditions when weighing up policy options to improve the management of biowaste in the EU.

The Commission is currently conducting an impact assessment on the different options and has invited stakeholders to submit their views. The EU executive intends to present an analysis of responses received by the end of 2009.

The ministers said the Commission should present an EU legislative proposal on biodegradable waste by 2010 "if appropriate". 

Priority for Belgian, Spanish and Hungarian EU Presidencies

According to diplomatic sources, the 'trio' of EU presidencies from 2010 to 2011 - Belgium, Spain and Hungary - are piling pressure on the Commission to table a separate directive. The topic is considered "genuinely controversial", as local and regional differences are so great that it will be very difficult to legislate on the matter at EU level, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Commission will most probably propose a "loose" directive next year to at least reach agreement on compost quality in view of fostering an internal market for it, a diplomat said. 

Any proposal for biowaste legislation should consider waste prevention, separate collection, quality assurance and traceability measures, as well as labelling and quality criteria for compost, ministers said.

They also stressed that the Commission's current definition of biowaste should be clarified and enlarged to include all biodegradable waste suitable for treatment in composting or anaerobic digestion plants.