PlasticsEurope seeks mandatory 30% recycled content target for plastics packaging by 2030

PlasticsEurope, the Brussels-based pan-European association of plastics manufacturers, supports the European Commission’s proposal for a mandatory EU recycled content target for plastics packaging. In a statement issued early this morning, the association calls for a target of 30% for plastics packaging by 2030.

According to its figures, some 17.8 Mt of plastic post-consumer packaging waste were collected in 2018. 42% were sent to recycling, 39.5% to energy recovery and 18.5% to landfills - figures that clearly show room for improvement.

A mandatory EU recycled content target in packaging would drive the market for recycled content and help to make a true circular economy happen.

As PlasticsEurope notes, using recycled content in plastic packaging would offer several advantages: it would allow the recycling of plastic waste which would otherwise be incinerated or sent to landfill as well as further reduce the carbon footprint of packaging. By reducing the amount of virgin material needed, it would also help conserve natural resources.

However, a lack of regulatory authorisation for polymers , e.g. food contact legislation, combined with inconsistent batch qualities and lack of supply security are all still factors which must be tackled if true progress is to be made. The efficiency of the supply chain and having the right infrastructure in place also need to be taken into account. Achieving this goal requires action from all partners involved.

The European Commission’s Circular Plastics Alliance is a good example of the type of concerted collaboration that is necessary. The alliance, in which PlasticsEurope plays a leading role, brings together over 290 value chain members striving towards the delivery of 10 million tonnes of recycled content in products by 2025.

Furthermore, PlasticsEurope members are already working towards the proposed 2030 target and are investing billions of Euros in among others, new technology solutions, such as chemical recycling. Planned investments in this technology and infrastructure range from 2.6 billion Euros by 2025 to 7.2 billion Euros by 2030 in Europe.

As PlasticsEurope says: “Chemical recycling is the missing link necessary to achieve a truly circular economy for plastics. As a promising technology, chemical recycling complements other plastic recycling options like mechanical and dissolution recycling.”

Ramping up chemical recycling is essential to achieve such a mandatory target, the association warns.

“The call for a regulated recycled content target for plastics packaging in the EU demonstrates our commitment to accelerate the transformation to a circular economy, helping implement the EU Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan,” said Dr Markus Steilemann, President of PlasticsEurope and CEO of Covestro,

“To successfully meet this target, we need new systems thinking, mind set and behavioural changes, higher performing products, eco-design innovation and new infrastructure, amongst others. We must also ensure recycled content is derived from all “waste materials” through a technology-neutral approach that includes both mechanical and chemical recycling, with a credible mass balance framework.’

As a promising technology, chemical recycling complements other plastic recycling options like mechanical and dissolution recycling. It not only enables plastic waste to be recycled which would otherwise end up in incineration or landfill, the output results in significant quantities of recycled material with virgin properties. This material is therefore suitable even for use in sensitive or demanding applications, such as food contact. It also, say its proponents, has a huge potential for creating quality jobs and contributing to a climate-neutral and competitive Circular Economy in Europe.

“We need a harmonised EU policy framework that provides certainty and incentivises further investment in collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure and technologies, including chemical recycling,” emphasised Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of PlasticsEurope.

“We must harness the power of the single market. However, systemic change requires concerted collaboration. It is only by working together with the EU institutions and the value chain that we can deliver on this target. With the right enabling conditions in place, this will be a very different industry 10 years from now.”

In a response to PlasticsEurope's appeal, plastics converters association EuPC cautioned that while 30 percent is a good goal, without a sufficient base to acquire more recycled material, converters will suffer in trying to reach an impossible number.

"As long as recyclates required by the market are not yet available in sufficient quantities and qualities, there is a big risk of quality impairments and marketing bans for our plastic packaging," EuPC President Renato Zelcher said in a news release.

"This would seriously jeopardize the economic existence of thousands of medium-sized plastics processors and packaging users in Europe and their investments into circularity.
"Circular Economy is a shared responsibility."