Plastics recyclers in Bangladesh will be subject to a mandatory audit if they wish to export their food-grade products to the European Union.
European Union has sought a list of competent authorities from Bangladesh to perform the audits, according to local media reports from the Financial Express. The European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety reportedly forwarded a letter for the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh saying recyclers would “not be able to export their products to the EU” without going through the audit, the Financial Express quoted the Directorate as saying.
"Our main intention is to create an inventory of competent authorities responsible for recycled plastic food-contact materials," said the Directorate, which is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of European Union policies and laws on health and food safety.
EPB officials said the Bureau is now working to identify competent authorities that can test plastics for recycled content according to EU standards.
According to the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), there are around 5,000 plastic companies in the Southeast Asian country. The overall market size was of 2.9 billion in 2017-2018 with a domestic market size of $1.9 billion and a 20% year on year growth. Exports reached values of $900 million in 2018-2019, with products being exported to over 70 countries. The Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association, counting over 14,550 members, says that exports reached 1.2 billion last year. BIDA says that plastics exports from Bangladesh have been growing at a rate of 4.5% per year since 2014, with packaging items making up the largest share of exports. The primary export destinations include the US, Canada, EU, China, India, and Nepal. No data on recycled plastics was readily available.
The move comes shortly after Plastics Recycling Europe (PRE) urgently called for enforcement mechanisms to protect the industry, as low demand and high imports continue to endanger it.
PRE attributes the declining market situation to ‘the lack of a level-playing field’, which has seen PET imports to the European Union increase by 20% from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, resulting in low demand for European rPET. Data obtained through PRE surveys suggests that these market dynamics have led to a 10% decrease of rPET production in Europe during the same period.
To address the issue, the association called for enforcement mechanisms, like the introduction of an independent third-party certification system, to level the playing field between European and non-European plastic recyclers. It said Europe is using ‘non-transparent imports’ from non-European countries to meet targets set by the Single Use Plastics Directive rather than supplying that demand with made-in-Europe rPET.
“Legislation has proved itself as one of the most effective instruments in setting the course for a circular plastic future,” PRE said. “However, enforcement measures are a must for its effective implementation. Without this, Europe risks untraceable, unverified imports of plastics participating toward the European recycling targets. Introducing an independent third-party certification system would solve these issues. In parallel, it would help to avoid unverified declarations and promote traceability, particularly for food contact materials, while boosting the transparency on the origin of recycled plastics,” it concluded.