The European Waste Management Association (FEAD), the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC), Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), Transport and Environment (T&E), Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) have called on policymakers to take action.
The associations urged European Parliament to uphold the targets set by the European Commission and “reject any attempts to dilute them”.
The draft report would reduce targets around recycled plastic content in new vehicles from 25% to 20% and decrease closed-loop targets from 25% to 15%.
In a joint statement released this morning (17 February 2025), the associations warned: “Ambitious recycled content benchmarks are crucial to stimulate investments in the technologies and infrastructure necessary to recycle ELVs plastics efficiently, enhancing material recovery rates and reducing the volume of waste sent to energy recovery or landfills.”
They also urged the rejection of provisions that seek to expand the scope to include new waste types or materials.
The draft report would allow the inclusion of biobased plastic and pre-consumer plastic waste to count toward the minimum recycled content and the closed-loop target for new vehicles.
The associations expressed concern that this would not have “any positive effect” on creating a circular economy and increasing the recycling of plastics.
The statement concluded: “As Europe strives for competitiveness and regulatory simplification, it is crucial that policy choices do not weaken circularity or limit the potential for high-quality recycling.
“A more ambitious approach with ambitious targets for recycled plastic content in vehicles is essential to ensure that valuable materials are recovered, Europe’s recycling industry remains competitive, and the continent reduces its dependence on imported raw materials.”
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