PlasticsEurope has come out in support of the European Parliament's adoption of MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbandy's proposal for a general ban on waste landfill.
“This proposal is really encouraging,” said Jan-Erik Johansson, programme director for resource efficiency at PlasticsEurope. “We believe that a landfill ban is key to manage waste as a resource. Every year 10 million tons of plastics are still buried in landfills in Europe.
“These plastics could provide a resource for recycling and energy recovery and stimulate the creation of thousands of new jobs.”
In May 2011, PlasticsEurope called on policy makers to support its aim of enforce zero landfill of plastics by 2020. Seven EU member states, plus Norway and Switzerland, already landfill less than 10% of their plastics waste.
However, a further 15 countries landfill more than 60% of their end-of-life plastics. According to PlasticsEurope this is a result of poor legislative enforcement.