PLASTICS RECYCLING EUROPE
PRE issues new strategy paper at 20th anniversary meeting / Current market structure “highly unsustainable” / Calls for more holistic approach to recycling / Need for standardisation
Ton Emans addressing participants at the meeting in Cascais (Photo: PIE) |
During its recent annual meeting, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) not only celebrated its 20th birthday, but also took time to reflect on the developments that have taken place in the European plastics recycling market since its inception. More than 150 participants attended the event, held in Cascais / Portugal on 16 and 17 June, during which PRE released a new strategy paper called, “Plastics Recyclers Europe: 20 years later and the way forward – Making more from plastics waste.” Calling the progress to date “almost a quantum leap,” PRE president Ton Emans relativised the success by pointing out that, “with only 26.3% recycling rates, and landfill and incineration still having much higher share, we cannot rest on our laurels.”
The 20-page strategy paper outlines the progress made to date, while at the same time pointing to obstacles to further growth and also suggests ways of overcoming these. Volatile virgin material prices are identified as one of the obstacles to plastics recycling. If virgin material prices fall to a low level, demand for recyclate subsides, as processors tend to prefer the former. This trend was apparently – at least partially – responsible for the insolvency of Euro Closed Loop Recycling (Birmingham / UK; www.closedlooprecycling.co.uk) in mid-May this year (see Plasteurope.com of 19.05.2016).
One of the more interesting references made in the document is the reference to higher recycling rates helping reduce marine litter. Picking up on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (Cowes, Isle of Wight / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) study on “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics” (see Plasteurope.com of 09.02.2016), PRE adopts a similar approach, calling the current structure of “take, make, dispose” highly unsustainable. Marine litter is just one example of how global waste management has been neglected over the past decades, PRE says, adding that, “By pushing for higher targets, global recyclability guidelines, landfill bans and standards on sorting we can change the current state of affairs.” Waste is a resource, the association said, adding that as such, it should be re-injected into the economy.
The 20-page strategy paper outlines the progress made to date, while at the same time pointing to obstacles to further growth and also suggests ways of overcoming these. Volatile virgin material prices are identified as one of the obstacles to plastics recycling. If virgin material prices fall to a low level, demand for recyclate subsides, as processors tend to prefer the former. This trend was apparently – at least partially – responsible for the insolvency of Euro Closed Loop Recycling (Birmingham / UK; www.closedlooprecycling.co.uk) in mid-May this year (see Plasteurope.com of 19.05.2016).
One of the more interesting references made in the document is the reference to higher recycling rates helping reduce marine litter. Picking up on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (Cowes, Isle of Wight / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) study on “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics” (see Plasteurope.com of 09.02.2016), PRE adopts a similar approach, calling the current structure of “take, make, dispose” highly unsustainable. Marine litter is just one example of how global waste management has been neglected over the past decades, PRE says, adding that, “By pushing for higher targets, global recyclability guidelines, landfill bans and standards on sorting we can change the current state of affairs.” Waste is a resource, the association said, adding that as such, it should be re-injected into the economy.
Recyclability a major topic for packaging design
Another widely talked about topic, also in the debate on marine litter – and one touched upon at this year’s “PolyTalk” conference in Brussels / Belgium (see Plasteurope.com of 30.03.2016) – is design for end-of-life. Today, PRE said, the main criterion in packaging design is high performance. That should be just one among several, the association said, adding that recyclability should also come into play. Doing so requires dispensing with fillers like chalk, the avoidance of plastics-paper composites, a moderate use of pigments, as well as a density higher than 1 g/cm³, to ensure that separation on this ground is possible. To help producers gauge the recyclability of their product, PRE in 2014 launched RecyClass, an online tool that assesses almost any type of plastic package from this particular viewpoint (see Plasteurope.com of 15.05.2014).
As these examples illustrate, there have been what PRE called “substantial” improvements in plastics recycling over the last decade. It is possible today to recycle many more waste streams than just 10 years ago. The so-called “waste-free factory” has also become much more common, as pointed out in a recent press release issued by “K” fair (www.k-online.de) organiser Messe Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf / Germany; www.messe-duesseldorf.de). While packaging remains the main application that finds its way into the secondary stream – not least as a result of the fact that it also made up 63% of all European plastic waste in 2012 – other sectors are also seeing gains, including building and construction or E&E. As part of VinylPlus (www.vinylplus.eu), for instance, the European PVC industry in 2015 recycled almost 515,000 t of PVC (see Plasteurope.com of 11.05.2016). New technologies even allow the recycling of multilayer or thin films, not to mention other improvements in the process, including in washing technologies.
Higher recycling rates require clear policies and standards
There are other ways in which Europe can promote plastics recycling, PRE outlines in the strategy paper. These include clear policies, standards and economic incentives to ensure its expansion. Key among them is a ban on landfill for all plastic waste, which should go hand-in-hand with higher recycling rates. In the document, PRE says it supports the European Commission’s Circular Economy package (see Plasteurope.com of 07.12.2015) and that it stands behind the proposal to lift recycling targets to 55% by 2020. The revised package met with a lot of criticism from plastics industry associations – including PRE (see Plasteurope.com of 09.12.2015) – when it was unveiled. Compared to other materials, the association says, plastics recycling rates are very low – leaving much room for improvement.
Apart from that, too much plastic is still diverted to landfill or incinerated for energy usage. Messe Düsseldorf points out that of the 7.7m t of plastics that are reused today, half is recycled, with the remaining 50% incinerated for energy purposes. PRE recommends that a strict landfill ban be accompanied by equally stringent regulations regarding what type of waste can be incinerated. During the Cascais meeting, the European Commission’s Environment director general Helmut Maurer also emphasised that, “Closing landfills for plastic must not lead to more incineration, and statistical confusion about what is recycling and what is energy recovery must be cleared away.”
PRE also recommends that “pull mechanisms" be created for plastics recyclate, while at the same time further developing the secondary raw materials markets. Today, the association says, 10,000 trucks containing plastic waste leave the continent every single day, for regions where the material is reprocessed in poor health and safety conditions and without any quality standards. An example of a “pull mechanism” would be tax reductions for companies producing regrind, or lower taxes for products with a recycled content. Alternatively, taxes could be increased for products that are non-recyclable, or for that matter for landfilling or incineration.
Apart from that, too much plastic is still diverted to landfill or incinerated for energy usage. Messe Düsseldorf points out that of the 7.7m t of plastics that are reused today, half is recycled, with the remaining 50% incinerated for energy purposes. PRE recommends that a strict landfill ban be accompanied by equally stringent regulations regarding what type of waste can be incinerated. During the Cascais meeting, the European Commission’s Environment director general Helmut Maurer also emphasised that, “Closing landfills for plastic must not lead to more incineration, and statistical confusion about what is recycling and what is energy recovery must be cleared away.”
PRE also recommends that “pull mechanisms" be created for plastics recyclate, while at the same time further developing the secondary raw materials markets. Today, the association says, 10,000 trucks containing plastic waste leave the continent every single day, for regions where the material is reprocessed in poor health and safety conditions and without any quality standards. An example of a “pull mechanism” would be tax reductions for companies producing regrind, or lower taxes for products with a recycled content. Alternatively, taxes could be increased for products that are non-recyclable, or for that matter for landfilling or incineration.
Secondary raw material market not yet fully operational
The status quo would also improve markedly if collection and waste sorting activities across Europe were standardised and harmonised, the strategy paper points out. In addition to an absence of global eco-design guidelines – which hinder the recycling process – the recycling process is further hampered by a lack of regulations. To that end, the European Union in 2012 launched “EuCertPlast”, a certification scheme aimed at post-consumer plastics recyclers (see Plasteurope.com of 18.07.2012). This is a first step towards harmonisation and the development of a pan-European standard, PRE added. “The plastics recycling market is not as structured, transparent or efficient as the market of the virgin plastics producers. It is very fragmented and a European standardisation is absent,” PRE says. Only if the secondary raw materials markets are fully operational can the circular economy work, the association says, adding that such a state will only be achieved once the existing, highly complex and often varied rules across European member states are streamlined.
Criticising the fact that European recycling policies tend to be motivated mainly by their environmental benefits, PRE says recycling offers economic and social advantages, too. Enforcing higher recycling rates across EU member states could create up to 50,000 new jobs in this particular value chain by 2020, the association says. A similar conclusion – albeit on a grander scale – was presented in a study by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP, Banbury / UK; www.wrap.org.uk), which found that promotion of the circular economy concept in Europe could create another 3m jobs by 2030 (see Plasteurope.com of 18.09.2015). Europe’s recycling industry currently consists of more than 1,000 companies, with a workforce of approximately 30,000. Apart from offering more jobs – mostly of a low-wage nature – recycling “brings an answer to Europe’s high dependence on the rest of the world when it comes to natural resources,” Emans pointed out.
Far from dismissing the environmental benefits of recycling, the strategy paper adds that if the targets set out in the European Circular Economy Package are met, plastics recycling could yield a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that would translate into 15m less cars on European roads by 2020. By 2025, these savings could become tantamount to 21m less cars.
e-Service:
"Plastic Recyclers Europe: 20 years later and the way forward" strategy paper 2016 as a PDF file
Criticising the fact that European recycling policies tend to be motivated mainly by their environmental benefits, PRE says recycling offers economic and social advantages, too. Enforcing higher recycling rates across EU member states could create up to 50,000 new jobs in this particular value chain by 2020, the association says. A similar conclusion – albeit on a grander scale – was presented in a study by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP, Banbury / UK; www.wrap.org.uk), which found that promotion of the circular economy concept in Europe could create another 3m jobs by 2030 (see Plasteurope.com of 18.09.2015). Europe’s recycling industry currently consists of more than 1,000 companies, with a workforce of approximately 30,000. Apart from offering more jobs – mostly of a low-wage nature – recycling “brings an answer to Europe’s high dependence on the rest of the world when it comes to natural resources,” Emans pointed out.
Far from dismissing the environmental benefits of recycling, the strategy paper adds that if the targets set out in the European Circular Economy Package are met, plastics recycling could yield a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that would translate into 15m less cars on European roads by 2020. By 2025, these savings could become tantamount to 21m less cars.
e-Service:
"Plastic Recyclers Europe: 20 years later and the way forward" strategy paper 2016 as a PDF file
24.06.2016 Plasteurope.com 958 [234374-0]
Published on 24.06.2016