Sharpening EU Leadership in Plastics Recycling

Published: May 15, 2019, 9:15 a.m.

In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of a motion that would phase out a number of single-use plastic items across the EU by 2021. The new law sets a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, committing Member States to this goal. Furthermore, plastic bottles will have to contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030. The European Parliament, alongside several forward-looking Member States, is taking the first steps towards the establishment of a circular plastics economy. While the focus should remain on reducing the use of plastics, plastic waste should also be accounted for. Replacing single-use plastics with innovative alternatives presents the EU with a significant opportunity, given that 95% of the value resulting from plastics production is lost to the economy, amounting to a loss of somewhere between \u20ac70bn and \u20ac105bn per year. However, the demand for recycled plastics in Europe today stands at only 6%. Therefore, the EU must develop a more robust recycling framework that encourages its industries to produce more responsibly.\n\nQuestions include: \n\nHow can the Circular Plastics Alliance help in developing the right framework to stimulate a circular plastics economy?\nHow can countries and companies create incentives to collect and reuse plastics? \nHow can Europe lead the way on the recycling of plastics? \nSpeakers include:\nJyrki Katainen, European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness\nAndr\xe9 Abreu, Head for International Policy at Tara Exp\xe9ditions Foundation\nIgor Chauvelot, Plastic Circular Economy Director at Danone\nWytske van der Mei, Head of Unit for Resource Efficiency at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management\n\nModerated by:\nDharmendra Kanani, Director of Insights at Friends of Europe