Brussels - A report launched recently shows that plastic recycling is under threat as plastics demand decreases and prices of virgin material keep dropping. As a direct consequence, 12.2 million tonnes of plastics waste in Europe still ends up in landfill, say PlasticsEurope, EuPC, EuPR and EPRO.

The industry warns that the situation could get worse as it continues to struggle with the impact of the economic downturn. Among the concrete requests which the industry is making to legislators are:
* Recasting public procurement and green public procurement legislation and guidelines
* Providing incentives for energy efficiency-related measures
* Boosting innovation by providing a more favourable environment

This was further supported by MEP Sajjad Karim who said: “I want to send a clear message to European DecisionMakers: the plastics industry needs your support in these times of crisis – not only for the benefit of its 1.6 million employees, but also for the environment.” He continued by stating that “We could create storage for the waste....or we could create more landfill space. But we’re already plagued by an excess of landfill sites across EU Member States; this is surely not the way forward.”

The annual report “The Compelling Facts about Plastics” shows that recycling across Europe still increased from 20.4 percent in 2007 to 21.3 percent in 2008, and energy recovery increased from 29.2 percent in 2007 to 30 percent in 2008. But both figures represent a slowdown compared to the considerable increases recorded in recent years.

Moreover, there has been a major collective effort by the plastics industry to increase plastics recovery figures over the years. The industry, local, national and European governments, NGOs, retailers and consumers alike have been major players, since everyone’s contribution is needed to get over this negative phase caused by the crisis. The industry continues to strongly believe in plastics recycling and its contribution to society, and is counting on European decision-makers to demonstrate the same commitment.

A full version of the “The Compelling Facts about Plastics 2008” is available at plasticseurope.org, plasticsrecyclers.eu and plasticsconverters.eu.

Quelle: European Plastics Recyclers (EuPR)

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