EU Advocate General Backs Scrapping Pharma Wastewater Treatment — SkimNews
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- EU Advocate General recommended annulling a provision of a revised wastewater directive requiring drug and cosmetics manufacturers to finance at least 80% of treatment costs, a boost for the pharmaceutical industry
- The revised wastewater directive, which took effect early last year, was designed to protect human health and the environment from harmful urban wastewater discharges and was projected to save about $7.5 billion annually by 2040
- A central element of the directive is a "quaternary treatment stage" aimed at removing micropollutants — primarily created by pharmaceuticals and cosmetics — from wastewater
- EU member states were required under the directive to ensure that manufacturers contribute to programs addressing the waste they generate by December 2028
- The original directive revised an earlier version and was intended to ensure cleaner rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coasts across Europe
Why it matters: If the Advocate General's recommendation is upheld, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies could avoid covering the bulk of an estimated $7.5 billion in annual micropollutant cleanup costs by 2040, shifting that financial burden onto member states and ratepayers while the EU's quaternary treatment mandate hangs in limbo ahead of the December 2028 compliance deadline.
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