Circular Economy Action Plan
The Circular Economy Package was adopted on 2nd December 2015 and consisted of an Action Plan in the form of a Communication, an Annex with a list of over 50 measures that the Commission intends to adopt in the coming years and four legislative proposals on waste. The measures identified in the Action plan focuses of measures at EU level that high added value to bring about a circular economic model. Making the circular economy a reality will however require long-term involvement at all levels – the EU, a Member State, local, and from all stakeholders.
The Circular Economy Action Plan addresses the whole life cycle of products. In order to ensure a harmonious movement of each stage of the cycle, action is necessary at all stages of the product life cycle taking into account the needs and limitations of the other steps because they are all linked.
The objectives are to:
- Extract and use resources sustainably;
- Design and produce better products that use less resources, have a long life-span and can be re-usable, recyclable;
- Have a leaner production using less resources and creating less/no residual waste;
- Have smarter consumption by buying products that are recyclable and re-usable, use products for longer, repair them;
- Use waste as a resource rather than dispose. Improvements in terms of resource and energy efficiency can be made at all stages.
To achieve these objectives will require a new wave of innovation. Therefore, the EU provides financial support to the MS and the businesses to bring about projects that would prove the case for a circular economy. The financing is available through European Structural and Investment Funds, Funds for Research and Development (e.g. Horizon2020), EIB. As a priority, the measures identified in the Action Plan proposes to tackle barriers caused by the EU legislation.