Industry and environmental organisations, including ECOS, call for measures to improve the reuse and high-quality recycling of materials and components from end-of-life vehicles in a joint letter.
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) provides a foundation for more sustainable packaging but leaves too much room for voluntary adoption. For a stronger commitment to reducing packaging waste, we need Member States to go beyond the minimum requirements of the regulation. It will be crucial to adopt ambitious secondary legislation and standards that will address sustainable waste management, helping the much-needed shift towards more sustainable packaging.
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) established essential requirements for packaging to be placed on the market. In this paper we fine-tune our recommendations for revising the existing harmonised packaging reuse standard, in line with the final text of the PPWR.
The EU is still at the beginning of a real transition to a circular economy. To truly put a stop to the take/make/use/dispose economy we need robust policies that will help to reduce and reuse resources and extend their lifetime - shifting the focus from extraction to regeneration. In our latest paper we outline the steps needed for the new Circular Economy Act to deliver.
The European Parliament gave in to throwaway culture today in its position on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposal, issued by the European Commission one year ago [1]. MEPs voted on hundreds of amendments, many of which aimed to undermine the environmental ambition of the legislative text. The abundance of options provoked a barrage of false claims, scaremongering, and intense lobbying from industry players in the run-up to the vote.
The number of electronics on the EU market increased by more than 85% between 2013-2021, new Eurostat data reveals [1]. This is leading to a similarly expanding rate of e-waste [2]. A bold and urgent answer is needed from the EU to mitigate environmental damage caused by Europe’s exponentially growing reliance on electronics.
From the bottom of your drawers to the mountains of e-waste pilling up around the world, evidence of the ephemeral lifecycle of our ICT and electronic products is everywhere. ECOS and its partners are fighting for EU legislation and international standards to end this disaster through rules applying to the design of these products, from your smartphone to your printer. We count some successes, but there is a long way to go before the world’s e-waste is reduced.
A UN Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution could be an essential piece of the puzzle to reach the 2030 sustainable development goals – but success is not guaranteed. ECOS is contributing to the treaty decision-making process as an official observer, advocating for high ambition and the integration of ambitious standards that protect the environment.
Fast fashion is leading the microplastic pollution trend. After World Environment Day, ECOS highlights that synthetic textiles are one of the major sources of microplastic pollution – they have dominated the fibre market in fashion since the mid-1990s.
After the European Parliament's positive vote on an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, ECOS and other civil society sent a joint reaction calling on policymakers at the EU and national levels to turn this high ambition into concrete legislative initiatives.
ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
