EU Plastics Strategy Overview

Recycling

• According to estimates, the potential annual energy savings that could be achieved from recycling all global plastic waste is equivalent to 3.5 billion barrels of oil per year.
• In their ‘vision for Europe’s new plastics economy’:

- By 2030 all plastic packaging placed on the EU market is reusable or can be recycled in a cost-effective manner.
- By 2030 half of plastics waste generated in Europe is recycled.
- By 2030 sorting and recycling capacity has increased fourfold since 2015 – with 200,000 new jobs across Europe.Improved separation and investment in innovation, skills and capacity, export of poorly sorted plastics waste has been phased out .
- Recycled plastic has become an increasingly valuable feedstock.
- Plastic value chain is more integrated, and the chemical industry works with plastics recyclers to help them to find wider and higher value applications for their output.
- Market for recycled and innovative plastics is successfully established with more products containing recycled content. Demand for recycled plastic grows four-fold.
- Reduction in reliance on fossil fuels
- Innovative material and alternative feedstocks for plastic production are developed
- Europe leader in sorting and recycling equipment

• Look at particular areas which show good potential for uptake of recycled content – examples given were construction and automotive sectors. European Commission will look at how to promote this through upcoming evaluation of EU rules on construction and end-of-life vehicles.
• European Commission will integrate recycled content in Green Public Procurement criteria.
• New guidance on separate collections
• Goals for plastic recycling cost EUR 8.4-16.6 billion – create an enabling framework for investment and innovation
• EUR 100 million up to 2020 to finance priority measures such as developing smarter and more recyclable plastics material, making recycling more efficient and tracing and removing hazardous substances.

Circular Economy / design for recycling

• Vision for Europe includes new companies emerging that provide circular solution to disposal of plastic.
• Remain committed to developing product requirements under the Ecodesign Directive that take account of Circular Economy aspects to make it easier to recycle. The commison has already proposed mandatory produce design and marking requirements to make it easier to and safer to dismantle, reuse and recycle electronic displays. Developed criteria to improve recyclablity of plastics in its Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement criteria.

Standards

• European Commission to work with European Committee for Standardisation and the industry to develop quality standards for sorted plastic waste and recycled plastics.

Marine litter

• Globally 5 to 13 million tonnes of plastics – 1.5 to 4% of global plastics productions end up in the oceans every year.
• In the EU 150,000 to 500,000 tonnes of plastics waste enter the ocean every year
• Measures to ensure waste generated on ships or gathered at sea is delivered to land and adequately managed. Measures to reduce abandonment of fishing gear at sea. Options to be explored include deposit schemes.

Reducing plastic

• Analytical work and public consultation to determine the scope of the legislative initiative on single-use plastics.

Microplastics

• 75,000 to 300,000 tonnes of microplastics are released into the environment each year in the EU.
• In the vision for Europe innovative solutions are found which prevent microplastics reaching the seas.
• Under REACH restrict the use of intentionally added microplastics – request European Chemicals Agency to review the scientific basis for this.
• States there will be measures to reduce plastic pellet loss

Biodegradable

• Increasing biodegradable material has opportunities and risk. Without clear labelling and adequate waste collection and treatment it could increase plastic leakage and create problems for mechanical recycling.
• Innovation in this field is welcome.
• Life cycle assessment to identify the conditions under which the use of biodegradable or compostable plastics is beneficial.
• Restrict oxo-plastics in the EU

Legacy additives

• European Commission will accelerate work to identify possible ways to make chemicals easier to trace in recycled streams. Aim being to make it easier to process or remove these substances during recycling.
• Finance research and innovation projects on better identification of contaminants and on decontamination of plastic waste through Horizon 2020.

EPR

• Financial resource through EPR schemes including for litter and investing in extended and improved separate collection.
• EPR systems could help improve efficiency of the recycling process, encourage design for recycling, reduce waste and litter.
• Eco-modulation of fees - financial reward for more sustainable produce design choices

Other

• Voluntary commitments from industry to back the strategy. Commision has already proposed new rules on waste maangement – step up separate collection, targets to encourage investment in recycling cpacity and avoid infrastructural overcapacity for processing mixed waste and harmonise rules on extended producer responsibility.
• Finalise the authorisation procedure for over a hundred safe recycling processes. Incorporation with the European Food Safety Agency the Commission will also assess whether safe use of other recycled plastic material could be envisaged, for instance through better characterisation of contaminants.
• EU wide pledging campaign to ensure that by 2025, ten million tonnes of recycled plastics find their way into new products on the EU market. Asking for pledges by June 2018.
• Keen on innovation that are full biodegradable but also reverse logistics, designing for sustainability.
• Bio-based feedstocks to reduce fossil fuel but need to ensure these are environmentally beneficial.

More Information

EU plastics strategy key documents:

• EU Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy - communication
• EU Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy - staff working document
• EU Strategy for plastics in the Circular Economy - brochure
• Strategy for plastics - press release and questions and answers
• Factsheets on the strategy for plastics in a circular economy
• Factsheet - changing the way we use plastics
• Other 2018 Circular Economy Action Plan initiatives