The European Commission (EC) has introduced new initiatives aimed at addressing the rising influx of cheap virgin plastic imports into the EU. The strategy emphasizes the “urgent action” required from EU member states to enhance the recycling sector, which is currently grappling with high energy costs, low prices for virgin plastic, and insufficient demand for recycled materials.

Source: PackagingInsights

The EC's goal is to establish a unified market for recycled plastics by implementing union-wide end-of-waste criteria. With these new regulations, recycled plastics will no longer be classified as waste, allowing for smoother circulation across all 27 member states under harmonized criteria applicable throughout the union.

According to industry estimates shared by the EC, the absence of EU end-of-waste criteria for plastics costs the EU plastics recycling sector around €120 million (US$140.3 million) annually.

Advancing Chemical Recycling

The EC's new initiative also highlights that the EU's plastic recycling industry faces “significant challenges” that hinder its capacity to capitalize on the growing demand for recycling and circular plastics.

To address these issues, the EC's circularity strategy underscores the significance of chemical recycling within waste management systems. The EC aims to provide “greater legal certainty” for investments in chemical recycling in the EU by proposing the introduction of the first-ever “mass balance allocation rules.”

These rules will determine the share of chemical recycling outputs that can count towards recycled content objectives. This first set of rules concerns the implementation of recycled content targets under the Single Use Plastics Directive, namely 25% recycled content in PET bottles by 2025 and 30% in all beverage bottles by 2030.

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These new measures suggest that harmonized regulations under the Single Use Plastics Directive could allow chemically recycled plastics to contribute to PET bottle targets. The EC acknowledges chemical recycling as a viable waste management solution, alongside mechanical recycling.

Private Investment

The proposed strategy also stresses the critical role of private investment, noting that the public sector only finances 7% of the EU’s circular economy. The EC estimates that the EU faces an annual investment gap of approximately €82 billion (US$95.9 billion) to advance the circular economy.

All tools to leverage private investment need to be deployed, including, where necessary, incentives or complements to public funds.

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In response, the EC plans to partner with the European Investment Bank and national banks to improve financing for the circular economy.