The EU Plastics Strategy - A Win for All the Institutions - Main contents
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries When historians look back on the Juncker Commission, one of the striking elements most likely to stand out is the Plastics Strategy. A radical, comprehensive new approach that filled a void, and was delivered in near record time. It answered an obvious need, and struck a chord in the public imagination. And all the signs now point towards a major success for all the co-legislators as well.
When historians look back on the Juncker Commission, one of the striking elements most likely to stand out is the Plastics Strategy. A radical, comprehensive new approach that filled a void, and was delivered in near record time. It answered an obvious need, and struck a chord in the public imagination. And all the signs now point towards a major success for all the co-legislators as well.
Taken as a whole, it's a bold attempt to reinvent the plastics economy, in the knowledge that what happens in Europe will have lasting effects on the wider global market.
There is no doubting the need for ambitious action. In Europe, 25 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated every year, with only 30 percent recycled, well below the level of other comparable materials. Large amounts of this waste end up in the sea, with plastics making up 70% of all marine litter items. As well as being catastrophic for sea life, it's a major loss to the economy. Some 95 percent of the value of plastic packaging - worth up to 105 billion euros - is lost to the economy every year. All in all a massive wasted opportunity, and one that Europe has to tackle in its transition to a more circular economy.
This transition has been the backdrop to a number of actions throughout this Commission. Europe needs a low-carbon, low-impact economy that keeps materials in the production loop for as long possible - a systemic change in our thinking, and a move away from the old "make-use-dispose" model. We live in a world of limited resources, so it makes sense to conserve them, and keep them in use for as long as possible.
That was thinking behind our 2015 EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy. As well as setting out the rationale for the transition, it also included a roadmap with 54 actions to help the transition become a reality. Four years on, we've now delivered or are delivering on all of those actions.
The plastics strategy was there in embryo, but its form is even more ambitious. Central to the strategy is turning challenges into opportunities. To do that we address the whole value-chain, bringing the economic and environmental goals together in a fully inclusive manner.
Innovation, which needs to happen all along the value chain, has pride of place. We need change at all stages, from renewable energy and feedstock to product design, new business models and reverse logistics, and improved technologies for recycling.
To help that innovation, Horizon 2020 has provided more than €250 million to finance R&D in areas of direct relevance for the Plastics Strategy. Between now and 2020, an additional €100 million will be devoted to financing priority actions under this Strategy, including on the development of smarter and more recyclable plastics materials, more efficient recycling processes and the removal of hazardous substances and contaminants from recycled plastics.
The first item on the Strategy agenda was reworking the regulatory framework, and in December 2018 we reached agreement with our co-legislators on single-use plastics, targeting the items most commonly found on European beaches. This should make a huge difference to the litter that enters our seas, and it will also save millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions.
By 2030, all plastics packaging placed on the EU market will be either reused or easily recycled. Delivering that will require improved design, higher-quality recycled content, more widespread separate collection, and higher demand for recycled plastics. The Single-Use Plastic legislation will help, as it brings in mandatory recycled content for plastic bottles.
Naturally, we need industry on board, so the Plastics Strategy also contains a pledging campaign. By the end of October 2018 we had over 60 pledges from plastics recyclers, industry associations and brand owners, mainly for PET packaging. Our preliminary assessment shows that industry is significantly committed to recycling plastics, and if the pledges are delivered in full, at least 10 million tons of recycled plastics could be supplied by 2025. But the pledges fall short on the demand side, so we need to do more to develop a well-functioning market for recycled plastics.
We are addressing that problem through the Circular Plastics Alliance, which is looking to balance supply and demand by improving the economics and quality of plastics recycled content.
The first meeting took place on 5 February, and operational meetings now follow up until May. There will also be a dedicated session on the Plastic Alliance at the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference we host on 6-7 March.
Reforming plastics is a tremendous opportunity. Our studies show that it could create around 30 000 jobs here in the EU, with benefits in numerous areas. The single-use plastics legislation alone should reduce littering by more than 50 percent for the ten most common items, avoiding environmental damage that would otherwise cost €22 billion by 2030.
All in all, it's European legislation at its best - responding to popular demand, benefiting the planet as well its inhabitants, and genuinely leading the world. A legacy we can all be proud of.
This article was originally published in Parliament Magazine on 5 March 2019
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