Counting the cost of waste

摘要

The handling of shipborne waste in European Union (EU) ports is set to undergo a major reorganisation under proposals published by the European Commission in January.The EU already has a port reception facilities directive, which came into force in 2000, but, 18 years on, the commission has decided that it is no longer fit for purpose. The fact that the commission has proposed replacing it with a completely new directive is a sign of how different from the original directive the new approach will be. Notably, it will be presented as part of a wider EU-wide strategy for dealing with plastics waste from all sources.