The Commission pledged to address the pollution of water resources in the context of the European Green Deal with its Zero Pollution Action Plan (ZPAP), announced last year.

Today we saw how the Commission proposes to do this.

EurEau largely supports the Action Plan, and we are pleased to see that it pulls in many other recent initiates under the Green Deal and beyond as we outlined in our recommendations to the Commission. This coherence and coordination should ensure that our health and environment are consistently protected.

We welcome the Zero Pollution Hierarchy, which refers to the EU Treaties and clearly states that EU environmental policies should be based on the Precautionary, Control-at-Source and Polluter Pays Principles. Removing pollution after it happens is too late and too costly. If the EU truly wishes to eradicate pollution, it has to prevent it in the first place, as much as possible. The upcoming review of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and Sewage Sludge Directive provide EU law makers with an excellent opportunity to reduce dependence on end-of-pipe treatments. 

Industry and agriculture have an important role to play in controlling pollution and rectifying environmental damage as much as possible at the source. We are ready and willing to work with all the EU institutions and other stakeholders to ensure that the Zero Pollution Action Plan translates into real efforts.

EurEau’s position on the ZPAP is here.

Our study on Extended Producer Responsibility is here.