This Regulation is no longer in force. Originally, it made provision to ensure that manure and derived products are used or disposed of in such a way as not to pose a risk to public or animal health. The amendments on Chapter II of Annex VI set out specific requirements for the approval of biogas and composting plants using animal by-products. These amendments were incorporated in Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, mentioned above.

In this Communication, the Commission establishes he objective of making Europe resource-efficient by supporting, among others, also the research on biodegradable plastic and on transforming waste into new resources. 

With this communication, the Commission wanted to focus on boosting innovation that results in or aims at reducing pressures on the environment and on bridging the gap between innovation and the market. The aim was to accelerate market uptake of eco-innovation by addressing its barriers and drivers.

This Communication from the Commission proposes measures to make the European plastics system more resource-efficient, with the aim that all plastic packaging on the EU market will be reusable or recyclable by 2030. The strategy foresaw a ban of selected disposable plastics and, regarding bio-based or biodegradable plastics, the Commission pointed out the importance of a clear communication to consumers on the use and the disposal of biodegradable plastics.

With this directive, Member States had to “set up a national strategy for the implementation of the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills….” and to, stepwise, reduce “biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills (…) to 35 % of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995…”, 15 years after the deadline for implementation of the Directive into national law.

The existing European Union legislation on packaging waste does not contain specific measures for lightweight plastic carrier bags. These can have a harmful impact on the environment and their consumption needs to be reduced. This directive sets targets to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, including imposing charges or setting national maximum consumption targets and introduces specific measures for biodegradable and compostable plastic carrier bags. 

With this directive, EU Member States are encouraged to promote an increase in the share of reusable packaging. In addition, it acknowledges that fostering “a sustainable bio-economy can contribute to decreasing the Union’s dependence on imported raw materials. Bio-based recyclable products and compostable biodegradable products could represent therefore an opportunity to stimulate further research and innovation and to substitute fossil fuel-based feedstock with renewable resources.”

This directive amends the previous on European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC for the recovery and recycling of packaging and packaging waste in order to better reflect the Union’s ambition to move to a circular economy. The directive wants to encourage member states to adopt new measures to enhance the reuse of plastic packaging.

This directive states that by 2030 all plastic packaging has to be either reusable or recyclable. Furthermore, starting from June 2021, the directive prohibits selected single-use plastic products such as straws, cutlery and plates to be placed on the market, foresees the reduction of again other single-use items such as cups and food containers, and introduced the obligation for producers to inform about the negative effects of plastic waste.

Directive 94/62/EC sets out the EU's rules on managing packaging and packaging waste. EU countries must take measures, such as national programmes, incentives through extended producer responsibility schemes and other economic instruments, to prevent the generation of packaging waste and to minimise the environmental impact of packaging.