The General Court of the European Union has decided to dismiss as inadmissible the lawsuits brought by pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies and associations against the provisions on extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD).

The recast UWWTD introduces the obligation of quaternary treatment, which aims at removing a broad spectrum of micropollutants from urban wastewater, which will involve additional costs.

At the end of January the European Commisson released A 606 page study "Cost of PFAS pollution to our society", highlighting the “staggering societal costs of PFAS with water services particularly affected."

To cover costs and align with the polluter-pays principle, pharmaceutical and cosmetics producers should be responsible for covering at least 80% of the additional treatment costs needed to remove micropollutants from urban wastewater at the end of their products' life.

EurEau, the European Federation of National Associations of Water Services, has welcomed the decision. The organisation represents national drinking and waste water service providers from 33 countries, including Water UK, from both the private and the public sectors.

EurEau commented:

“As the Directive concludes, an EPR system is the most appropriate means to achieve this, as it would limit the financial impact on consumers and businesses, while providing an incentive to develop greener products.

“The original 1991 UWWTD was a key piece of legislation in human and environmental protection, through shielding water bodies receiving discharges from urban wastewater treatment plants. The Court’s decision allows the recast UWWTD, which embeds the One-Health approach and sets more stringent treatment as well as new requirements for urban wastewater, to allow the sector realise its role as guardians of the environment and human health.

“It’s now time to focus on the implementation of the recast UWWTD, particularly on the EPR. We remain open to collaborating with the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors, as well as with other relevant stakeholders, to achieve an effective and efficient EPR system.”

EC study published January 2026 highlights “staggering societal costs of PFAS with water services particularly affected

At the end of January the European Commisson released its 606 page study "Cost of PFAS pollution to our society", highlighting what EurEau describes as the “staggering societal costs of PFAS with water services particularly affected.”

The study provides further evidence of how much Europe pays to maintain PFAS uses across the European Economic Area.

The costs for removing PFAS from raw drinking water to meet current EU requirements were estimated at €3.8 billion in 2024. The removal of ultra short-chain PFAS would add around €14-15 billion per year.

Compliance with the new PFAS limit value for surface water bodies as stipulated in the revised Environmental Quality Standards Directive might lead to an annual cost burden of more than €70 billion for the wastewater sector. Depending on the ambition levels of remediation efforts, total societal costs could reach nearly €2 trillion until 2050.

The study assesses four scenarios ranging from Business as usual to a total PFAS ban. Ecosystems service costs and the losses for the food supply chain are not quantified. The assessment of health costs is limited to PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and PFNA due to a lack of data.

Oliver Loebel, EurEau Secretary General, commented:

“While the impacts of PFAS pollution on all of us should already provide sufficient justification for a prompt and far-reaching PFAS ban, it is also important to demonstrate the overall economic impacts of PFAS pollution. Limiting the PFAS ban to consumer applications only, as proposed by the European Commission, is insufficient if we truly want to protect public health and strengthen Europe’s water resilience.”

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