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Key priorities of the EU Circular Action Plan (2020)
Re-emphasis on reducing waste and
creating markets for secondary raw
materials
Further strengthening of product
policies aimed at circular design,
extended producer responsibility and
reuse of products
Frontrunners' performances
progressively becomes the norm
Cooperation with stakeholders in key
value chains, such as electronics, ICT
and textiles but also furniture and
high-impact intermediary products,
such as steel, cement and chemicals
Key actions particularly focus on
legislative proposals and mandatory
requirements
Emphasis on provision of information
to the consumer
I think it is highly innovative and impactful for the European Commission
to apply the Ecodesign Framework Directive to achieve
circular economy goals. This is the most substantial law to create
regulations that steer the transition towards a circular economy,
as it deals with how products are designed in view of the whole
product life cycle. 15 Until now, this law focused on products’ energyrelated
components but hardly touched on the materials used. For
this to happen, two additional instruments are crucial: product
passports and a product database. These instruments can include
information about origins of materials used in a product and about
its composition, hazards and risks. A simultaneous and better
aligned regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) with the Ecodesign Framework
Directive would further enhance sharing responsibility for the
materials used in products and waste streams.
15 De Römph, T., The Legal Transition towards a Circular Economy,
Dissertation, KU Leuven and Hasselt University, June 2018; and De Römph,
T.J. and Cramer, J.M., How to Improve the EU legal Framework in View of
the Circular Economy, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 2020,
38, 3, 245-260, https://doi.org/10.1080/02646811.2020.1770961.