European Union legislation in development

A revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) is currently being negotiated. It contains simplification measures and revisions which the UK Government believes will improve existing legislation and provide greater clarity for business and industry. These include:

  • repeal of the Waste Oils Directive
  • repeal and integration of the Hazardous Waste Directive into the revised WFD
  • a provision enabling the development of EU-wide environmental and quality criteria to determine that specified waste streams have been fully recovered and have ceased to be waste.

At the Environment Council on 28 June 2007, the Council reached political agreement on the proposed revision of the WFD. The politically agreed text was incorporated without significant amendment into the Common Position which was adopted when the Environment Council met on 20 December 2007. The Council's Common Position was formally communicated to the European Parliament on 21 February 2008, and the dossier is now subject to its Second Reading in the European Parliament.

Separately, the European Commission issued new guidance on the distinction between non-waste 'by-products' and waste residues in February 2007. Defra and the EA will build on this guidance in issuing their guidance on the definition of waste referred to above.

Further environmental legislation to establish a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products aims to improve the environmental performance of products throughout the life-cycle, by integration of environmental aspects at an early stage of product design.

The Energy Using Products Directive 2005/32/EC was finalised and published on 6 July 2005 with 'implementing measures' to follow after European Commission studies are completed. Defra is the lead  Government department that will bring any implementing measures into UK law. Further detail is available here.

 

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 i  Related links

Waste Framework Directive

Energy Using Products Directive 2005/32/EC