In favor of recycled plastics, the EU considers expanding the application of mandatory recycled content to the construction, automotive and packaging industries

A representative of the European Union's executive body confirmed last week that the European Commission is considering extending the mandatory recycled content target to the construction, automotive and packaging industries, ICIS
.

Potential tightening of rules to take full advantage of existing recycling infrastructure

“The Commission will make recommendations on mandatory recycled content in packaging, vehicles and construction products
.
This will further stimulate the recycled plastics market and unlock market demand
,” said Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea, Director General of the European Commission for the Environment
.

He said the measures would be in addition to existing EU requirements for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles to contain at least 25% recycled PET (R-PET) by 2025 and 25% recycled PET (R-PET) by 2030 All beverage bottles contain at least 30% recycled content
.

Ciobanu-Dordea said in a question-and-answer session at the ICIS Global Plastics Recycling Policy Summit at the end of May that the European Commission's focus was not on building new infrastructure, but on tightening rules to make better use of existing infrastructure
.

He explained that recycling conditions could be created through more detailed harmonized rules among member states, which would require some technological innovation, but not necessarily a massive expansion of recycling infrastructure, but efficient use of existing facilities
.

"More precise and detailed rules are used, but sometimes they are also considered more restrictive
," Ciobanu-Dordea added
.

The shortage of raw materials drives the price of recycled polyolefins to skyrocket

According to ICIS.
, market players often lack sufficient collection and sorting capacity to meet their ambitious sustainability goals, especially in the packaging industry, which is the biggest bottleneck facing polymer recycling
.

Currently, the sources of raw material waste packages for the three main recycled polymers, recycled PET (rPET), recycled polyethylene (r-PE) and recycled polypropylene (r-PP), are limited
.

In addition to energy and transport costs, the shortage and high prices of scrap bales have driven the value of recycled polyolefins to record highs in Europe, leading to a growing disconnect between virgin polyolefin and recycled polyolefin prices, which is r-PET food grade pellets have been in the market for over a decade
.

"In its presentation, the European Commission pointed to the fragmentation of collection practices and infrastructure as a major factor contributing to the failure of plastic recycling, and stressed that recycling plastics requires concerted action across the recycling industry,
" said Helen McGeough, senior analyst for plastic recycling at ICIS.

.

“ICIS’s Mechanical Recycling Supply Tracker records the total output of European plants producing r-PET, r-PP and r-PE operating at 58% of installed capacity
.
According to the relevant data analysis, improving the quantity and quality of raw materials can help to increase the efficiency of existing recycling and drive investment in new capacity,
” added Helen McGeough
.

Chemical recycling is expected to ease the difficulty of recycling mixed waste plastics

Currently, the shortage of waste bags and the high price of recycled polymer flakes and pellets have led waste plastic managers and recyclers to explore how to use mixed waste plastics to fill the shortage, especially in non-packaging applications such as construction
.

Many non-packaging applications can use lower quality polymer grades than packaging, and as the packaging industry increases the share of single material grades, non-packaging applications are expanding the types of polymer grades they use
.

The separation of mixed waste plastics (especially mixed polyolefins) is difficult, high cost, and low economic benefits.
However, with the mature application of chemical recycling technology, the recycling of mixed waste plastics has improved
.

There are pros and cons to deposit rebate programs

Furthermore, although the European Commission does not intend to expand the current infrastructure, they are considering making the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) mandatory for all EU countries
.

Under a deposit return system, buyers pay a deposit for their packaging at the time of delivery, buyers submit the packaging at the deposit return point (usually when they are sorted into the system), and receive a refund deposit
.

Deposit-back schemes incentivize consumers to collect plastic packaging, thereby increasing the collection rate of plastic packaging, which also reduces pollution as plastic packaging is usually sorted at the entrance to the collection point
.

But deposit-return scheme systems rely on deposits high enough to incentivize customers and risk undermining well-functioning curbside collection schemes, which are often heavily funded by states and businesses
.