Circular Economy

What are the latest developments? We’ve picked out some highlights for July 2025:

Circular Economy Act: Commission launches key actions
E-waste: study proposes overhaul of targets to support circular economy

Circular Economy Act: Commission launches key actions

On 2 July, the European Commission unveiled a series of new measures to advance the EU’s transition to a circular economy and lay the foundation for the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, expected in 2026.

These initiatives aim to:

• strengthen the internal market for secondary materials
• improve resource efficiency, and
• support the EU’s targets under the Competitiveness Compass and Clean Industrial Deal

They include the goal of doubling the use of recycled materials in the EU economy by 2030.

At the centre of the launch was a Strategic Dialogue on Circularity between key stakeholders and key European Commissioners, including Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall and Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné.

Following the high-level dialogue, the Commission announced several measures:

• Waste shipments: The Commission will roll out a Digital Waste Shipment System, which will fully replace paper-based procedures by May 2026. It aims to reduce administrative burden, improve traceability, and facilitate recycling across borders.
• Classification of waste: A public consultation was launched to harmonise the classification of “green-listed” waste, with the goal of simplifying cross-border shipments. The consultation will remain open until 31 October 2025.
• Electronic waste (WEEE): The Commission also published an evaluation of the WEEE Directive, revealing that nearly half of all e-waste remains uncollected in the EU. The findings underscore the need for a new regulatory approach, which will be addressed in a forthcoming revision of the WEEE Directive as part of the Circular Economy Act.

Additional measures, including new rules on battery recycling and material recovery, are expected in the coming days.

A specific public consultation and call for evidence on the forthcoming Circular Economy Act will be launched shortly.

Landbell Group contributes to conversations

On 4 July, Dr Thomas Fischer, Landbell Group’s Head of Market Intelligence & Governmental Affairs, met the Cabinet of Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

Thomas was invited following a previous meeting with the Cabinet of Jessika Roswall, the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy.

During the meeting, Thomas expressed Landbell Group’s support for the new Commission’s priorities – particularly on competitiveness, simplification and the Single Market – and welcomed the upcoming Circular Economy Act.

He also communicated our willingness to share our pan-European presence, and technical expertise in EPR and secondary raw materials markets, to support the discussions and work ahead.

E-waste: study proposes overhaul of targets to support circular economy

A new study by Deloitte commissioned by WEEE Forum examines how collection targets for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the EU can be made more meaningful and effective.

The report argues that current targets, based on the weight of WEEE collected compared to the weight of equipment placed-on-market (POM), fail to reflect the real potential for circularity or to incentivise better environmental outcomes.

According to the study, existing targets fail to account for differing product lifespans or the fact that many items remain in households for years before disposal.

The current system also ignores unreported waste streams, such as informal reuse, illegal exports and hoarding, which distort the baseline used for target-setting.

Deloitte proposes a shift from purely weight-based metrics to more dynamic, lifespan-adjusted and product-specific indicators, with additional suggestions to incorporate reuse, preparation for reuse, and incorporating improved data tracking into the performance benchmarks.

The study also calls for targets that better align with the EU’s circular economy and digital product passport ambitions, pushing for more traceability, longer product use, and higher resource efficiency across the entire electronics lifecycle.

It recommends that policymakers revise WEEE targets before the next legislative review to better reflect technological, behavioural and economic realities.

While these are meaningful proposals, the chosen approach and targets should strike the right balance between effectiveness and implementation, avoiding and streamlining overcomplexities.

Shifting away from POM towards other approaches may require building up from a simpler start as industry adapts to new methods.