In 2018, EU member states and institutions agreed on a comprehensive set of laws aimed at preventing household waste and boosting recycling. In Annex IVa of the agreed Waste Framework Directive, the EU executive sets out recommendations regarding the introduction of economic instruments such as landfill and incineration taxes, deposit-return-schemes, and fees.
This brief provides an overview of existing economic instruments and other measures that can be used to help governments reduce waste and incentivise reuse and recycling in line with the waste hierarchy. It explains Annex IVa of the Waste Framework Directive and provides case studies from different EU Member States to show how these examples have been put into practice.