The proposed waste reform would give a price advantage to those who sort their waste and should also encourage businesses and municipalities to recycle more, the climate ministry said.

"There are two alternatives – either costs increase uniformly for everyone in order to organize waste management in municipalities, or we introduce a distinction based on everyone's contribution. Our wish is for those who collect waste separately, the waste fee will be, between €3-5 per month in apartment buildings for example. Those who do not sort will pay around three times more. This gives a considerable price advantage to those who sort their waste," said Estonian Minister of Climate Kristen Michal (Reform).

The exact amount of those bills will be influenced by the increasing role of municipalities in waste management. They will be assigned specific targets for how much waste must be collected separately.

As one-third of mixed municipal waste consists of packaging, there are also plans to increase the amount of recycling. The current packaging excise duty will be adjusted so that packaging made from recycled material will become cheaper.

According to Ivo Jaanisoo, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Climate, changing the packaging excise duty may also affect product prices. However, according to the ministry's calculations, the impact on households would be less than €1 per month.

Fees for burning trash

As part of the waste reform, the ministry also plans to increase the cost of disposing of waste in landfill sites, as well as introduce a fee for incineration, to encourage recycling.

"In Estonian households, hundreds of thousands of tons of materials are generated, which could be recycled, but at the moment, we simply burn or put a large amount into landfill," said Michal.

"The goal is that by 2030, in addition to the current 135,000 tonnes, we can put additional waste back into use as new materials."

The draft proposal also includes plan to digitize the waste management sector. This will produce fresh data in the future regarding how much waste is collected separately in particular municipalities as well as where waste is processed.

The Ministry of Climate is investing €111 million in the circular economy. This will be used to establish the necessary infrastructure for waste collection and recycling, create new solutions for reuse of packaging, and reduce waste generation.

As a European Union member state, Estonia is obliged to recycle 55 percent of its municipal waste by 2025, 60 percent by 2030, and 65 percent by 2035. The ministry said that the solutions provided by the reform will lead to an increase in the separate collection and recycling of municipal waste.

Based on coordination, feedback, and discussions of the development plan, a bill is expected to be drafted in the second half of 2024. Changes are planned to be implemented in 2025.

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