Water and the environment
Textiles: Commission publishes Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
As part of its Green Deal ambitions, the European Commission published (30 March) its Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. If implemented, it may reduce the pollutants load in waste water through the phasing out of hazardous chemicals and measures to limit microfibre release.
Microplastics released from textiles can make their way into waste water treatment infrastructure and later into the environment. Control at source measures to prevent microplastics from entering the cycle are both sustainable and effective and are key for delivering the circular economy.
We responded to the call for evidence (formerly known as a roadmap).
Read our briefing note on microplastics and water.
Industrial Emissions Directive: draft legislation published
EurEau welcomes the publication of the draft Industrial Emissions Directive on 4 April. It proposes better access to information on chemicals used on sites and increased emphasis on control at source, with an environmental management system that will look specifically at hazardous substances. On the downside, the information flow to drinking water operators is not mentioned.
You can read the draft proposal here.
The IED aims to achieve a high level of protection of human health and the environment taken as a whole by reducing harmful industrial emissions across the EU, in particular through better application of Best Available Techniques (BAT).
Industrial Emission Directive Portal (New E-PRTR name)
The E-PRTR is being renamed to the Industrial Emission Directive Portal (IEDP). Annex 2 of the IEDP will become the list of substances to be considered under the IED for compliance. This list will be amended through delegated acts, aligned with the GWD and WFD requirements and dynamically linked to the IED.
The IEDP provides easily accessible key environmental data from industrial facilities in European Union Member States. It also covers Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the UK.
Mercury Regulation: EurEau answer submitted
We answered the public consultation on the Mercury Regulation. We are calling for a ban on dental amalgam (mercury) so that, in the future, the levels of mercury in sludge from waste water treatment will reduce and it will be possible to reuse the resultant high-quality sludge as a source of nutrients in a truly circular economy.
This Regulation focuses on further restricting the remaining uses of mercury in the EU, especially in dental amalgam and certain other mercury-added products, thereby contributing to the zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment, as announced in the European Green Deal.
REACH: EurEau responds to the public consultation
The ongoing targeted REACH revision will determine the way chemicals are regulated for years to come.
We submitted our response to the related public consultation. We also submitted feedback to the consultants working for the Commission on the Mixture Assessment Factor (MAF).
EurEau strongly advocates in favour of stronger control-at-source measures, including for persistent, mobile and toxic substances.
The REACH Regulation aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals.
Energy files: Parliament committee publishes amendments
The amendments for the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are published.
Regarding the EED, the European Commission should provide guidelines for energy audits and energy management systems for a certain energy consumption.
On ETS, the Liese report from the European Parliament could still create an issue for co-incineration, as it recommends that municipal waste incineration falls under it possibly by 2028, depending on an impact assessment. The report is due to be adopted in June.
The new Renewable Energy Directive (RED) proposes rules for the EU to achieve a 40% renewables target by 2030 while the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) calls for energy savings for the public sector and energy audits with the goal of reducing GHG emissions by 55% and contributing to other Green Deal initiatives.
End of Waste Status: JRC report ignores resource recovery from waste water streams
The Commission’s Joint Research Centre published their report defining a priority list of materials to obtain an EU End-of-Waste status. Regrettably, no material from waste water treatment streams has been selected, mainly because of a lack of data. The JRC decision will not facilitate compliance with the expected ambitions of the revised Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
The factsheets developed by EurEau and partners help inform the discussion.
Water as an essential service
Water Security Plan: towards a more Resilient Drinking Water Infrastructure
The ERNCIP Water group released the WSecP manual that deals with the implementation of security measures to counter hostile actions and deliberate waterborne contamination against the physical and cyber integrity of water supply systems. It also guides EU policy-makers on how to enhance CI security and resilience aspects. Read more…
