In its 2 July plenary session, the European Parliament (EP) approved the resolution for a circular economy drafted by Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen of the European People’s Party and greenlighted by the EP’s environment committee (ENVI) on 17 June – see Plasteurope.com of 22.06.2015. The vote, which was welcomed by the plastics industry, would set the stage for the European Commission (EC) to table legislation by the end of 2015, setting binding reduction targets for municipal, commercial and industrial waste.

“This is a paradigm shift, a systemic change, as well as a huge, hidden business opportunity,” said Pietikäinen, adding that “it can be created only by helping a new business ecosystem to emerge.” An estimate drawn up under the leadership of former EC president Manuel Barroso calculates that improving resource use could lead to net savings of around EUR 600 bn for EU businesses, public authorities and consumers, while at the same time reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2-4%. What’s more, a 30% increase in resource productivity by 2030 could boost European GDP by nearly 1% and create 2m sustainable jobs.

Specifically, the EP resolution calls for binding targets – at both the national and EU level – that would increase resource efficiency by 30% up to 2030, compared with 2014 levels. By 2018, the parliament would like to see a “dashboard” of indicators put in place to measure various aspects of resource consumption. The legislators also urge a ban on incineration of recyclable and biodegradable waste by 2020 and a gradual ban on landfilling (except for some hazardous and residual waste) by 2020, as well as an increase in targets for preparation and reuse to at least 70% of municipal solid waste and 80% of packaging waste by 2030.

In rare accord, associations representing the plastics industry, such as PlasticsEurope (Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticseurope.org) and Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE, Brussels; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) praised most of the EP’s proposals in chorus with European Environmental Bureau and Friends of the Earth. Adding bioplastics producers’ voice, European Bioplastics (EUBP, Berlin / Germany; www.european-bioplastics.org), stressed that the EU needs to use natural resources more efficiently. Calling the EP vote a “strong call” for the EC to propose the necessary legislation by 2015, its board chairman, François de Bie, said: “Highly-skilled jobs in bioplastics manufacturing, converting and along the entire bioplastic value chain can be an important part of this growth.”

Players in the conventional and biodegradable segments of the plastics industry are not completely in agreement with each other on all parts of the EP’s proposed legislation, however. While EUBP supports call for a “life cycle-oriented approach” toward package design that would mandate minimum recycled material content in new products, PlasticsEurope is wary. It points out that modern food packaging often consists of a multi-layer film made out of different plastics, which is hard to recycle.

Over the course of this year, the Commission is due to reintroduce proposals for the waste component it removed in early 2015 from the circular economy legislative package tabled initially in July 2014. It also is expected to present a comprehensive action plan to kick-start the circular economy. In carving out the waste proposal, the EC’s first vice president, Frans Timmermans, said it would be replaced with “more ambitious” legislation.