The European recycling industry is currently coping with extremely low demand for recycled materials and risks from growing competition in third countries that, according to EuRIC, “threaten circularity in Europe”.
In the roadmap, titled EU Plastics Recyclers’ Roadmap: For a competitive & innovative industry, the EPRB advocated for the swift implementation of mandatory recycled content targets for plastics to stimulate demand and encourage investments.
EuRIC said that this would help scale up recycling capacities across the continent. It is also calling for incentives, either tax-based or market-based, to bridge the price gap between virgin and recycled plastics.
The confederation said: “To deliver high-quality recycled materials, the establishment of mandatory collection targets and recyclability criteria to enhance the quantity and quality of inputs to recycling processes is crucial.
“Moreover, striking the right balance between precautionary measures and responsible risk management is critical for the circular economy, meaning that recycling activities could stop if disproportionate threshold values are set without a harmonised analytical method available at industrial scale to demonstrate compliance.”
The plastics branch of EuRIC said that a well-functioning single market for recycled plastics in the EU is particularly imperative in the face of the new restrictions on plastic waste exports brought by the Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR).
“Low demand for recycled plastics and cheap imports from third countries with low environmental and safety standards threaten the growth and competitiveness of Europe’s plastic recycling industry.
“To protect it, we need decisive and bold police measures that will genuinely support one of Europe’s key industries in the transition to a circular and carbon-neutral economy”, concluded Julia Ettinger, EuRIC’s secretary general.
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