PACKAGING RECYCLING
Europe continues to make progress in recovery and recycling / Some 64% of material placed on the market is recycled / Europen report
Recovery and in particular recycling rates for packaging waste in the EU 27 continue to improve as the amount of waste sent to landfill recedes, the packaging manufacturers’ organisation European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (Europen, Brussels / Belgium; www.europen.be) says in its latest in-depth analysis of the evolution of packaging waste rates covering the period 1998 to 2011. The analysis will “further inform the EU-wide discussion over proposals for new packaging targets due in May of this year,” said Virginia Janssens, Europen’s managing director.
Up to the end of 2011, the organisation’s figures show that 64% of the material placed on the market was being recycled, largely exceeding the 55% minimum recycling target set by the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) currently up for revision. In the older member states – EU 15 – some 65% of all packaging placed on the market was recycled, but in the newer states – EU 12 – the figure was only 51%. The report points out, however, that the packaging waste targets did not apply in some of the newer states until 2012 or even later and does not apply to three states, Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia, until 2014 or 2015.
Examining the numbers and trends, Europen said packaging production and packaging waste disposal have been “clearly decoupled from economic growth.” Despite a nearly 14% increase in household consumption spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages between the years 2000 and 2011, an ageing population and a trend toward smaller households, the amount of non-wood packaging placed on the market in the EU 15 rose by just 7%. The amount of non-wood packaging waste disposed of actually declined by 49.5%. In 2011, just under 18.2m t of packaging altogether was sent to landfill.
Broken down by country, Europen’s charts show that – led by Belgium – 20 of the 27 EU member states exceeded the 55% target set for 2008, 2011 or 2012 respectively. The only country among the 12 states with a 2008 target deadline to fall short of the goal was the UK. Among states with a 2011 or 2012 deadline, Ireland and the Czech Republic stood out positively.
One of the key challenges for Europe will be to bridge the gap between the older and newer states in terms of waste management performance, Janssen said. For packaging, Europen supports a legislative approach separate from that of waste generally, to assure that packaging, and post-consumer packaging in particular, is collected separately to meet existing and future recycling and recovery rates across the EU. The organisation believes that a revised packaging waste directive should contain binding minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility as well as harmonising definitions.
Separately, a group of European Parliament members led by Italian MEP Vittorio Prodi is requesting that the EU make proposals by the end of 2014 to phase out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020 and to discourage the incineration of waste – see Plasteurope.com of 20.01.2014. They also urge that plastic waste should not be used for energy recovery unless all other options have been exhausted. A full enforcement of the EU legislation on waste could save an estimated EUR 72 bn annually, boost annual turnover of EU waste management and recycling firms by EUR 42 bn and create more than 400,000 jobs by 2020, the MEPs said.
e-Service:
Europen "Packaging and Packaging Waste Statistics 1998-2011" as a PDF file
Up to the end of 2011, the organisation’s figures show that 64% of the material placed on the market was being recycled, largely exceeding the 55% minimum recycling target set by the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) currently up for revision. In the older member states – EU 15 – some 65% of all packaging placed on the market was recycled, but in the newer states – EU 12 – the figure was only 51%. The report points out, however, that the packaging waste targets did not apply in some of the newer states until 2012 or even later and does not apply to three states, Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia, until 2014 or 2015.
Examining the numbers and trends, Europen said packaging production and packaging waste disposal have been “clearly decoupled from economic growth.” Despite a nearly 14% increase in household consumption spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages between the years 2000 and 2011, an ageing population and a trend toward smaller households, the amount of non-wood packaging placed on the market in the EU 15 rose by just 7%. The amount of non-wood packaging waste disposed of actually declined by 49.5%. In 2011, just under 18.2m t of packaging altogether was sent to landfill.
Broken down by country, Europen’s charts show that – led by Belgium – 20 of the 27 EU member states exceeded the 55% target set for 2008, 2011 or 2012 respectively. The only country among the 12 states with a 2008 target deadline to fall short of the goal was the UK. Among states with a 2011 or 2012 deadline, Ireland and the Czech Republic stood out positively.
One of the key challenges for Europe will be to bridge the gap between the older and newer states in terms of waste management performance, Janssen said. For packaging, Europen supports a legislative approach separate from that of waste generally, to assure that packaging, and post-consumer packaging in particular, is collected separately to meet existing and future recycling and recovery rates across the EU. The organisation believes that a revised packaging waste directive should contain binding minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility as well as harmonising definitions.
Separately, a group of European Parliament members led by Italian MEP Vittorio Prodi is requesting that the EU make proposals by the end of 2014 to phase out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020 and to discourage the incineration of waste – see Plasteurope.com of 20.01.2014. They also urge that plastic waste should not be used for energy recovery unless all other options have been exhausted. A full enforcement of the EU legislation on waste could save an estimated EUR 72 bn annually, boost annual turnover of EU waste management and recycling firms by EUR 42 bn and create more than 400,000 jobs by 2020, the MEPs said.
e-Service:
Europen "Packaging and Packaging Waste Statistics 1998-2011" as a PDF file
17.03.2014 Plasteurope.com [227763-0]
Published on 17.03.2014