Introduction
Concern about the depletion of available natural resources and the reduction of waste generated in production and consumption processes has raised the need to change traditional economic models towards a model that optimises the use of available resources, materials, and products. Circular economy is proposed as an alternative to this traditional model and its goal is to maintain the value of products, materials, and resources for as long as possible, returning them to the production cycle at the end of their use, while minimising waste generation. This means producing with the least possible environmental impact.
Production and consumption
A new production and consumption model in which the value of products, materials, and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, where waste generation is minimised and unavoidable waste is used to the greatest extent possible.
Waste management
Effectively apply the waste hierarchy principle by promoting the prevention of waste generation, fostering preparation for reuse, strengthening recycling, and recovering energy or other value from waste that cannot be recycled; and ensuring traceability, reducing landfill disposal and abandonment of waste in the environment, and preventing waste from reaching the sea.
It covers both hazardous (hz) and non-hazardous (nh) waste from all economic sectors and households, including waste from waste treatment (secondary waste), but excluding most mineral waste to avoid situations where trends in ordinary waste generation could be overshadowed by massive fluctuations in waste generation in the mineral extraction and processing sector.
Share of recycled packaging waste compared to the packaging waste generated. Container waste encompasses discarded material used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods, from raw materials to processed goods, from the producer to the user or consumer, excluding production waste. Packaging waste is divided into "paper and cardboard packaging", "plastic packaging", "wood packaging", "metal packaging", and "glass packaging".
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), such as computers, televisions, refrigerators and mobile phones, is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU. WEEE includes hazardous substances (cadmium, mercury, lead, hazardous oils or polluting gases, among others) and valuable materials that represent an important resource and whose recycling must be improved.
Secondary raw materials
The goal of recycling is the incorporation of secondary raw materials into the production process. Without this, all operations for separating and recovering materials from waste is pointless. Determining the degree of market participation in raw materials allows for the improvement of a set of instruments to encourage their use, thus closing the cycle.
It measures the quantities of selected categories of waste and by-products that are shipped between EU Member States (within the EU) and across EU borders (outside the EU). Five classes have been selected: plastic; paper and cardboard; precious metals; iron and steel; copper, aluminium and nickel.
Competitiveness and Innovation
Promote research and innovation both in the public sector and in the business sector, and particularly in public-private collaboration, as engines of change and transition towards a sustainable production and social model, facilitating the creation of knowledge, its transfer, and adoption of new technologies.
Investment during the reference year in new and existing tangible capital goods, whether purchased from third parties or produced for own use (i.e., capitalised production of tangible capital goods), which have a useful life of more than one year, including non-produced tangible goods, such as land.
