BRUSSELS – The European Commission has ditched a far-reaching circular economy package which included hugely ambitious recycling targets, however, the Commission claims the package will be replaced with more ambitious legislation in 2015. First vice-president Frans Timmermans told MEPs: "We want to put something on the table that is more ambitious. We want to make sure the circular economy is approached in a circular way and not just half a way." Unveiled in July by the previous administration of the Commission, the draft circular economy package contained a raft of recycling targets, including a proposed 70 per cent recycling and reuse target for 2030, a requirement to increase the recycling rate for packaging waste to 80 per cent by 2030, and a ban on the landfilling of recyclable plastics, metals, glass, paper and cardboard, and biodegradable waste by 2025.
