PRSE keynotes open with a clear call to action

This was the message of the first speakers at the conference running in parallel with the Plastics Recycling Show that opened this morning at the RAI, in Amsterdam. It is a message that echoes what a walk around the exhibition floor confirms: closed-loop recycling, infrastructure, sorting, circularity may be among the main themes, but a harmonised, regulated approach is the over-arching requirement to make these work.

Keynote speaker Mattia Pellegrini, head of the Waste Management & Secondary Materials unit, DG Environment, European Commission, who joined by video,set the scene with a deep dive into the EU’s new Circular Economy Action Plan, which also includes a review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The aim is to decrease amount of packaging on the market, increase the volume of reusable packaging and increase amount of recycled content in packaging

Too much packaging can be avoided, he said. “Despite the fact that the weight of packaging is going down, the sheer amount  - expressed in kilograms – is going up. The levels of avoidable and single-use packaging are high, while the market share of refillables has dropped dramatically in 20 years.”

He noted that it was crucial to overcome the current barriers to circularity: among others, the increasing use of design that inhibits recycling, the many inconsistencies and confusion when it comes to labelling, and issues such as hazardous substances and contamination.

The EU has therefore identified various areas of intervention to reduce packaging waste per capita by 2030 both by waste prevention activities and resusable activities, said Pelligrini. “We are clearly defining what is understood by recyclable and putting forward guidelines on design for recycling. All packaging on the market must comply by 2030.”

As well, the EU is updating a harmonised standard for compostable packaging and establishing targets for recycled content in plastic packaging, in addition to rules on labelling ‘to facilitate sorting by consumers, based on the Nordic model’.

Pellegrini was followed by Peter Goult, circular economy & climate change mitigation specialist at systems change company SYSTEMIQ Ltd. who confirmed the need to accelerate the efforts being made today. “The current actions, including all the ongoing industry body action and regulations, we will be 30% circular in 2030 . While it’s progress, it’s not enough,” he said. He pointed to the recent ‘Reshaping Plastics’ report compiled by Systemiq at the request of Plastics Europe that appeared in April of this year.

“We looked at the interventions available - reduction, substitution, mechanical recycling and chemical recycling  - and the available levers. Applying these levers and quantifying these gets us to 78% circular by 2050, with the impact of substitution being a surprisingly low 4%, reduction accounting for an impact of 25%, mechanical recycling for 27 %  and chemical recycling for 21%.”

He added that the remaining third to getting to net zero will require supply-side abatement technologies: carbon capture, electrification, including of the crackers,and the use of alternative feedstocks. “Successfully applying these will take us to 100% - or beyond - allowing us to meet EU ambitions.”

Calling circularity is the most important medium-term lever for a comprehensive transition of the industry by 2030, Marco ten Bruggencate, president of Plastics Europe, the European trade association of polymer producers said that today, speed is of the essence, ‘action over words’.

“We need to collaborate more effectively and intensely. We need to be open and tap into the opportunity this presents to Europe. All our members are committed to the circular economy and to working to reduce our Scope 3 emissions, which make up roughly 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the plastics industry,” he said.

Among the ways the association is working to future-proof the industry, he said, is by looking at the use of alternative feedstocks – including waste plastics. But to get better quality and a higher quantity of recyclates into the market, more infrastructure is needed, better sorting technologies, but also, collaboration.

“Also, there are planned investments of €7.2 billion in chemical recycling by 2030, which we believe will allow us to scale,” he emphasised. “Many of the technologies are still nascent. We are working on that. And chemical recycling is not a silver bullet. But: we need all levers to work together.”

He concluded with a call to action: “This journey we are embarking on is massive. We therefore need a strong and harmonised EU single market, with access to high-quality and affordable feedstocks. And last but not least: we are working on a roadmap for the industry, and are looking at the potential for a multi-stakeholder platform.  We will continue to ramp up our efforts. We’d love to go faster – but at least we are moving."