Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste

Policy Document
European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste

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Related indicators

Waste recycling This indicator shows trends in recycling rates for several waste types — municipal waste, packaging waste, waste excluding major mineral wastes and WEEE — at an aggregated European level (EU-28 and other European countries for which data were available). For municipal waste and packaging waste, data are also presented at country level together with related targets for packaging waste. Municipal and packaging waste recycling rates refer to waste recycled as a proportion of waste generated. Recycling rates for waste excluding major mineral wastes refer to waste recycled as a proportion of waste treated. WEEE recycling rates refer to waste recycled as a proportion of the average quantity of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in the previous 3 years. Higher recycling rates indicate a more positive development towards using waste as a resource and a circular economy.
Recycling rates for packaging waste fractions and municipal waste This indicator shows recycling rates of packaging waste fractions and municipal waste, and is presented in two figures for the EU-15 and EU-27, respectively. What constitutes packaging waste is defined by Annex I to the Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC). Packaging comprises all products used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods, from the producer to the user or the consumer. 'Non-returnable' items used for the same purposes also constitute packaging. Packaging materials include paper and cardboard, plastic, wood, metals and glass. Municipal waste is waste collected by or on behalf of municipal authorities and disposed of through the waste management system. It mainly comprises household waste but similar wastes from sources such as services, offices and public institutions are included in Eurostat data. Wastes from agriculture and industry are not included. It should be noted that a large part of packaging wastes are reported as municipal waste. The recycling rate is the share of generated waste which undergoes material recovery (i.e. not energy recovery). Figure 1 presents recycling rates for packaging waste fractions (1998-2010) and for municipal waste (1995-2010) for the EU-15. Wood packaging wastes are first included from 2003 due to lack of reporting by a number of countries during earlier years. Figure 2 presents the same variables for the EU-27, but for the years 2004-2010 for packaging waste recycling rates. The underlying data has been reported to Eurostat by EU Member States.
Generation and recycling of packaging waste Total packaging used in EU Member States in kg per capita. Recycling of packaging waste as a share of packaging used in EU Member States. The amount of packaging used is expected to equal the amount of packaging waste generated because of its short lifetime.
Generation and recycling of packaging waste - outlook EEA Definition: Total packaging waste produced used in EU Member States. Recycling of packaging waste as a share of packaging used in EU Member States. The amount of packaging used is expected to equal the amount of packaging waste generated because of its short lifetime. This indicator shows generation of packaging waste. Model used: Waste and Material Flow model from EEA/ETC Ownership: European Environment Agency Temporal coverage: 2000 - 2020 Geographical coverage: EU 25: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/policy-documents/directive-94-62-ec-on or scan the QR code.

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