Page - 249 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

memberstates“mayinvolve theuseofeconomic instrumentssuchaspricing, taxes andlevies,whichhaveprovedparticularlyeffective inreducingtheconsumptionof plastic carrier bags” [23, p. 2]. Theoriginal directive onpackaging andpackaging waste of 1994 [21] aimed at preventing or reducing the impact of packaging and packagingwasteon theenvironment.Even thoughplasticcarrierbagsare included in thisdirective [21], it doesnotcomprise specificmeasureson theconsumptionof suchplastic bags. WasteLegislation In thepresentEuropeanwaste legislation, somestrategic elements alreadyexist to tackle the problem of plastic waste in the environment. TheWaste Framework Directive [24], for example, relates to issuesofproductdesign, life cycle thinking, extended producer responsibility, resource efficiency and conservation, aswell as waste prevention throughwaste operations. This directive aims at “lay[ing] down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation andmanagement ofwaste and by reducing overall impactsof resourceuseandimprovingtheefficiencyofsuchuse”[24,p.6]. It sets general recycling targets for household waste including plastics “[. . .] by 2020, the preparing for re-use and the recyclingofwastematerials such as at least paper, metal, plastic and glass from households [. . .] shall be increased to a minimum of overall 50 % by weight” [24, p. 11]. Furthermore, in Article 4(1), an explicit waste hierarchy is defined as a priority order inwaste prevention and management legislation andpolicy. It gives precedence towaste prevention; reuse and recycling over recovery, including energy/thermal recovery; and disposal. In addition to theWaste FrameworkDirective [24], other directives [25–28] also set out recovery and recycling targets. Another key element inwastemanagement is the extended producer responsi- bilityasdescribedinArticle8of theWasteFrameworkDirective [24].Next to this, it introduces the polluter-pays principle as “guiding principle at European and international levels. Thewaste producer and thewaste holder shouldmanage the waste in away that guarantees a high level of protection of the environment and human health” [24, p. 4]. Furthermore, “[In] accordance with the polluter-pays principle, the costs of waste management shall be borne by the original waste producer or by the current or previous waste holder” [24, p. 12]. The “polluter- pays principle” is alsomentioned in the directive on environmental liability [29] with regard to the prevention and remedyingof environmental damage. According to thewastemanagement hierarchy as laid out in theWaste Frame- workDirective [24], disposal ofwaste is the least preferable option and should be limited to thenecessaryminimum.Ifdisposedwasteneeds tobe landfilled, ithas to be sent to landfills, which comply with the requirements of the directive on the landfill of waste [30]. Themain objective of this directive is the prevention and reduction of negative effects on the environment, including freshwaters, from the landfillingofwaste by introducing strict technical requirements. In2014theEuropeanCommissionmadealegislativeproposal [31],whichstates that “clear environmental, economic and social benefits would be derived from FreshwaterMicroplastics:Challenges forRegulation andManagement 249