1. What are the main challenges of lobbying European institutions on behalf of the plastics recycling industry?
Plastic recyclers are relentless advocates for change. Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) has been representing this relatively young industry over the past two decades, advocating for the change of the status quo in plastic waste management in the EU, while highlighting the importance of science in informing policy decisions and shaping a more sustainable future.
Our organisation is amongst the key stakeholders formulating, evaluating, and monitoring the EU environmental policies that impact plastic recyclers in Europe. PRE’s advocacy action is based on problem solving with transparency, data, and science-based results. These are the necessary ingredients for developing long-term policies that have a profound and positive impact on the EU’s environment and green jobs.
With the myriad of interests in the EU, however, policy wins are not simple. Frequently, stakeholders advocate for opposite solutions and policy measures, in that case the outcome of the legislative process can take an unexpected turn and end up not being aligned with your position. However, having the right expertise and engaging in a constructive dialogue with the policy makers while at the same time acting at different levels are key in making your cause heard.
PRE played a vital role in putting plastic recycling at the centre of the EU debate over the last decade. Recognising plastic waste as a valuable resource was a breakthrough in the process of formulating policies aiming at improving waste management of plastic in Europe. The turning point for the industry was the Green Paper on Plastic Waste published by the Barroso Commission back in 2013. It marked the first step on the way towards improving plastic waste management in Europe. It set the basis and goals for the review of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), known as the Circular Economy Package, the guiding document for waste policies in the EU. The revision of WFD and its introduction of the 55% plastics recycling rate target by 2025 was an important legislative change that gave confidence for further investments in the sector.
With these developments, plastics recycling emerged as an important element of the EU’s circular economy and a crucial step in helping to solve the plastic waste crisis. Although putting plastic recyclers at the heart of the public debate was a journey, today the plastics recycling voice is on the path to being increasingly seen and heard. Robust legislation will continue playing an important role in defining its future.
2. PRE has been vocal about the need for firm political action in order to meet Europe’s recycling targets. Do you expect a political change of focus after these European Elections?
Recycling targets were and are one of the flagship policy measures that PRE has been advocating for since it was established. Setting ambitious and measurable targets, especially in the context of environmental objectives, is one of the most efficient and viable policy tools that can drive real change.
By providing a clear objective, recycling targets boosted confidence in the market, with major investments on the continent to upscale recycling capacities. The testimony to this is a stable year-on-year growth of the recycling capacities in Europe over the past decade. Within just 5 years it grew by more than 60% and in 2021 alone, the industry invested an estimated €1.75 billion, while the installed plastic recycling capacity has grown by 17%. Today, the plastic industry generates €10.4 billion in turnover and employs more than 30,000 workers.
Coming back to the targets - today we know that not all the Member States will achieve them in time, as additional efforts and the necessary infrastructure and collection systems need to be further expanded. That is why the EU must keep its commitment to ensure legal certainty for the industry by, amongst others, making sure that the set targets are measurable, harmonised and adequate. Furthermore, this must come hand in hand with sufficient infrastructure – an ecosystem that allows waste to be captured and be fed back into the economy – while at the same reducing the environmental pressure.
Although the political landscape in the EU will change, the commitment to realise the Green Deal should stay. Topics like Made in EU, sustainable growth, climate neutrality, a level playing field and the EU’s independence on resources - are not going to disappear. At the same time, there is a strong will from the institutions to continue the fight against plastic pollution while maintaining the ambition to deliver on the EU's climate targets.
Legislation has proven to be one of the most effective instruments to set the course for an accelerated transition towards circularity for plastics. However, to deliver on the set targets, it must be paired with enforcement measures to ensure they are implemented effectively and that loopholes are limited – that will need to be key action for the new EU mandate.
One thing is sure: the commitment of recyclers is strong. While much work remains ahead, PRE is committed to working with the new institutions to deliver robust legislation which is data and science-based to genuinely improve plastic waste management and plastic production in the EU. Comprehensive legislative support must unlock additional collection and high-quality sorting tonnages while incentivising investments in recycling technologies and infrastructures. Tangible EU-wide targets are, in this scenario, indispensable to accelerate this transition towards circular plastic production.
3. Does PRE think the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is a step forward for sustainability in the plastics industry?
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is a step in the right direction for the industry, as it includes policy measures for upgrading the production phase by making plastic packaging recyclable while also setting mandatory recycled content targets. It fosters legal certainty and, therefore, presents important opportunities for recyclers and value chain actors to further invest in expanding recycling facilities and technologies.
The PPWR sets a clear direction for circular packaging, and together with a robust design for recycling framework will secure high-quality input materials for recycling processes and equally boost their uptake in high-quality applications. Consequently, this will drive the decoupling of recycled plastics prices from their virgin counterparts.
However, with over 30 secondary legislative documents (which will detail the criteria for compliance) that will need to be developed in the coming years, the real work starts now, it shall not be sidelined. Its objective is to improve how packaging is produced but also to target packaging waste.
Therefore, to achieve the full potential of the PPWR, the details of this very important piece of legislation will have to be worked out and defined based on data, science-based results, and environmental performance parameters. Considering the current market challenges, it will be equally important to work on a level playing field, which is a must for the plastics recycling industry to retain its competitiveness.
To give an example, EU recyclers are subject to robust legislation and safety requirements. However, these cannot always be verified for imported materials, leading to the lack of a level playing field. To overcome this downturn, it is imperative to ensure the same rules are applied to all players in the market.
When it comes to improving the traceability of imported materials, independent third-party certifications will help solve the current problem in the market verifying the origin of the waste providing. Furthermore, they will need to be supplemented by sustainability requirements to maintain EU’s industry competitiveness.
The PPWR, therefore, sets the direction for the industry, however a lot of work will need to take place to fully exploit its potential on the way of making plastic packaging fully circular.
4. The European Commission is considering adopting the mass balance fuel-exempt method for allocating recycled content in single-use plastic beverage bottles. If it is adopted, how does PRE think the measure will impact the recycling industry?
As mentioned, targets are a very effective tool to make a change in the market, especially to drive environmental policy. However, targets are just the first step. They need to be accompanied by clear, transparent methodologies or rules that allow for their verification in a robust way while avoiding greenwashing and delivering on the environmental objectives they were set to achieve.
The uptake of recycled content in plastic products is key to achieving the circularity of plastics. Emphasis on the physical traceability of plastic waste along the value chain should be incentivised to allow for reliable and accurate claims on recycled content for plastic products.
PRE supports calculation methods that enable transparent reporting on the use of recycled content in plastic products. To establish a level playing field, PRE considers it essential that any rules applied to the calculation and reporting of recycled content in products are technology-neutral whilst ensuring the highest level of traceability possible.
Innovation aimed at the continuous optimisation of recycling processes and outputs is essential in achieving a truly circular future for plastics. However, calculation methods must be robust, geared at eliminating greenwashing and in line with environmental objectives.
New technologies, like chemical recycling, have the potential to accelerate the transition toward circularity and unlock the use of recycled materials in an increasing range of applications. Like all technologies, chemical recycling is highly dependent on quality and quantity requirements for feedstock materials. To produce an output that can be used in high quality applications, some technologies, like pyrolysis for instance, have stringent input specifications. Furthermore, chemical recycling technologies must remain complementary to mechanical recycling processes to allow for the highest environmental gains.
Recyclers believe that is the way to enable further reductions in the dependency on virgin raw materials and their associated emissions.
5. If you had to pick one sustainability trend that will drop off the agenda by 2030, what would it be?
The strategic priorities of the institutions’ secretariats are consistent with the Green Deal - especially delivering on carbon neutrality, and EU competitiveness. As already mentioned, the subject matters including products made in EU, sustainable growth, climate neutrality, and a level playing field together with increasing EU’s independence on resources - are some of the key issues that the EU will continue to focus on.
However, with the ‘renewal’ of the institutions the priorities might shift as well. The dynamics in the institutions will also change and geopolitical and economic topics – war in Ukraine, inflation, energy crisis – to name a few, are taking more place in the public debate. Therefore, there are some other issues which are more pertinent for Europeans today – and these will highly impact the upcoming political agenda.
We can also expect European policymakers to work on the implementation of the Green Deal instead of developing new policy initiatives, except on water resilience.