BERLIN, June 11 (Reuters) - The European Parliament has agreed on new rules for reducing, reusing and recycling packaging in order to tackle the growing problem of waste and promote the circular economy. Under the new regulation, the amount of packaging waste in the EU is expected to decrease by 5% by 2030 compared to 2018, and by 10% and 15% by 2035 and 2040, respectively. Additionally, the new regulation calls for a ban on the use of certain single-use plastic packaging from January 1, 2030, including packaging for unprocessed vegetables and fruits, and miniature shampoo bottles used in hotels.
According to Eurostat, 188.7 kilograms of packaging waste will be generated per capita in the EU in 2021, an increase of 32 kilograms from 10 years ago. The EU predicts that this figure will rise to 209 kilograms in 2030 if no additional initiatives are taken. In order to reduce the amount of plastic waste and enhance the recycling and reuse of plastic packaging, the EU has introduced a number of initiatives. In January 2018, the European Union issued the EU Plastics Strategy, which plans to invest €350 million to promote the modernization of the plastic production and recycling process, with the aim of making all plastic packaging on the EU market recyclable or reusable by 2030. In July 2021, the EU began to ban the use of single-use plastic products that can be replaced with non-plastic materials, including single-use plastic plates, cutlery and straws. Recently, the EU formally adopted the Sustainable Product Eco-design Regulation, which sets out requirements for reusability, recyclability and remanufacturing of product packaging.
The latest edition of the Plastics Circular Economy - Europe at a Glance report released by PlasticsEurope shows that 26.9% of Europe's plastic waste was recycled in 2022, marking the first time that recycled plastic waste exceeded plastic waste going to landfill in Europe. In addition, recycled plastics also account for 13.5% of newly manufactured plastic products in Europe.
Analysts also point out that plastic recycling in the EU also faces a number of challenges. on April 17, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released the first joint EU assessment of chemical pollution factors and their impacts.
The report notes that plastic waste, among other things, contains toxic substances and that these are difficult to extract from plastic products. Many plastic products are designed using laminates made from the polymerization of different materials, which makes sorting and recycling particularly difficult. In addition, plastic raw materials are inexpensive, while recycled plastics are relatively costly. For example, biodegradable plastic containers are three to five times more expensive than regular plastic containers, affecting market demand for recycled plastics.
To this end, the relevant organizations have put forward a series of coping strategies, such as reducing the amount of plastic waste and unnecessary plastic consumption at source; strengthening eco-consciousness in product design by manufacturers to make their products more easily repeatable and recyclable; improving the traceability of plastic products through digital watermarking, blockchain or artificial intelligence technologies; and developing new technologies to enhance the quality of recycling.
