It is widely recognised that plastics have a crucial role to play in delivering a more sustainable future with ambitious targets and initiatives set up to 2030, focussed on the key areas of preventing leakage of plastics into the environment, improving resource efficiency and increasing recycling and reuse rates.
Through their unique combination of light-weight, durability and other intrinsic properties, plastic materials already contribute to reduce GHG emissions making a more efficient use of our resources across a range of different sectors and everyday applications. As a result of their versatility and capacity for innovation, our materials are also invariably best placed to support breakthrough sustainable technologies in areas such as sustainable mobility, smart and efficient building, sustainable agriculture, food conservation or in the healthcare and medical sector, to name only a few.
However, challenges relating to littering and end-of-life options for certain types of plastics waste —especially packaging waste— must be addressed if the material is to achieve its fullest potential in a circular and resource efficient economy.
It is in this spirit of commitment to future generations,
that PlasticsEurope has decided to set a series of ambitious targets and initiatives up to 2030 that are focussed on the key areas of preventing leakage of plastics into the environment, improving resource efficiency and increasing recycling and reuse rates.
The Plastics 2030 Voluntary Commitment focuses on preventing leakage of plastics into the environment, 0n improving resource efficiency and the circularity of plastic packaging applications.
Overarching goals and targets:
1 Prevent leakage of plastics into the environment. By increasing engagement inside and outside our industry.
2 Improve resource efficiency. By accelerating innovation in the full life cycle of products.
3 Improve circularity of plastic packaging. By reaching in 2040 100% reuse, recycling and/or recovery of all plastic packaging in the whole EU. In 2030: 60% reuse and recycling of all plastic packaging. All play a role in a circular economy.
General commitments
Prevent the leakage of plastics into the environment
• Prevent littering: identification and littering prevention solution of most found items into the environment.
• Prevent pellet loss
Improve resource efficiency and circularity of plastics
• Accelerate research of alternative feedstocks.
• Product Life Cycle Inventory: update of datasets
every three years.
• Extension of waste data collection, including new data on circularity of plastics.
• Eco-design guidelines for plastic packaging finalised by 2020.
• Support standardisation for quality standards for sorted plastics.
Sector-specific commitments
• Development of packaging design guidelines and assessment protocols according to the principles of the Circular Economy.
• Innovation and standardisation to increase the recyclability of polyolefin packaging.
• EU wide quality standards for pre-sorted plastic waste, harmonisation of test methods
for recycled plastic materials and certification of plastic recycling operations.
• Innovation & development of end-use markets to stimulate reuse and encourage demand for recycled plastics.
• Stimulating innovation to improve recycling, conversion technologies and reuse.
• Develop technologies to recycle PS/EPS back into original applications.
• Collaborate with value chain to improve collection and sorting systems for packaging waste.
• Create an independent structure to finance promising technologies. www.styrenics-circular-solutions.com
• Within the framework of VinylPlus (www.vinylplus.eu) further advance and increase safe and quality PVC recycling for all PVC applications.
• Continue developing eco-efficient PVC packaging materials, increasing shelf life of the packed products.
ref: Plastics the Facts Report: Plastics Europe
Plastics – the Facts is an analysis of the data related to the production, demand and waste management of plastic materials. It provides the latest business information on production and demand, trade, recovery as well as employment and turnover in the plastics industry. In short, this report gives an insight into the industry’s contribution to European economic growth and prosperity throughout the life cycle of the material.
It is widely recognised that plastics have a crucial role to play in delivering a more sustainable future.