Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022 - 23

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Plastics News, October 19, 2022 * 23
Recycling: From margin to mainstream
By Karen Laird
Sustainable Plastics
Plastics Recyclers Europe has
worked for more than 25 years
to promote the use of recyclates
and high-quality recycling across
Europe and beyond. As Managing
Director Antonino Furfari says,
" Recyclers are an essential part of
the solution to the plastic waste
crisis. " Here, he discusses with
Karen Laird Europe's transition
toward more circularity and the
corresponding
changing
landscape
of the European plastics
recycling industry.
Q: Plastics recycling is a core
part of the European Union's
plastics strategy. As the managing
director of Plastics Recyclers
Europe, can you talk about the
role of your association in the
realization of this strategy?
Furfari: Our organization has
been working relentlessly to put
plastics recycling in the spotlight
of the public debate. For over 25
years, it has promoted the use of
recyclates and high-quality recycling
across Europe and beyond.
Recyclers are an essential part
of the solution to the plastic
waste crisis. They drive the circularity
of plastics and the transition
toward the circular economy.
With that objective in mind, Plastics
Recyclers Europe has been
actively advocating for improved
waste management by advancing
plastics
products' recyclability,
increasing
quality
collection
and improving
the uptake of
recycled polymers
in a variety
of high-end
products.
Furfari
that PRE's
Q: It is clear
efforts
have not
gone unnoticed. Can you mention
a few of your achievements?
Furfari: Our actions have facilitated
the creation of a Green Paper
on Plastic Waste, which identifi ed
public policy challenges induced
by plastic waste that were not
specifi cally addressed in EU waste
legislation. PRE has supported
the Circular Economy Package
and stands behind an increase in
recycling targets, with 2018 being
a pivotal year for the industry as
legislation, industry initiatives and
consumer awareness led to a focus
on waste and recycling.
Our organization has been continuously
aiding the growth of
the plastics recycling market and
plastics recycling's profi le. In just
fi ve short years, this market grew
by more than 60 percent. Today,
installed recycling capacity equals
over 9.6 million tonnes. In the year
2020 alone, the plastics recycling
industry made investments to the
tune of €1.5 billion ($1.46 billion);
a vast amount that translated into
1.1 million metric tons of additional
installed capacity compared to
the previous year. Since 2017, the
industry has invested a total of
€4.9 billion ($4.76 billion).
Q: The EU has set a number of
goals regarding the recyclability
of plastic packaging and the
use of recycled content. Can you
elaborate on these goals?
Furfari: The new targets set
down in the Single Use Plastics Directive
(SUPD), i.e., recycled-content
targets for beverage bottles
- with a minimum recycled-content
inclusion of 25 percent in
mineral and soft drink bottles by
2025 and 30 percent by 2030 -
have increasingly driven the demand
for food-contact recyclates.
This is visible in the growing investments
in recycling capacities.
There is undoubtedly a steady
move towards the circularity of
the PET industry in Europe.
However, to reach these targets,
collection will have to increase
drastically - yet another
target stipulated in the SUPD,
which calls for 77 percent by 2025
and a 90 percent collection target
for PET bottles by 2029, which
currently in the EU stands at 61
percent. This involves setting up
extra sorting and collection capacities,
including deposit return
systems (DRS), which are among
the most effi cient systems of collection
for food-grade material,
both in terms of high quality of
the collected plastic and in terms
of the collection rates. The average
collection rate in the EU member
states with implemented DRS
is 90 percent.
Additionally, the EU stipulates
that all plastic packaging must be
designed to be recyclable and/or
reusable by 2030.
Q: How feasible is that target?
Furfari: The Ellen MacArthur
Foundation reported in 2018 that
at least 50 percent of all plastic
packaging, per item, on the global
market is not recyclable, simply
because of design issues. To give
an example, out of the estimated 14
million metric tons of fl exible plastic
placed on the market in 2018, 2
million metric tons were multilayer
fi lms, which are not compatible
with recycling processes.
As the commission is working
on the revision of the Packaging
and Packaging Waste Directive,
which contains the essential requirements
for the placement of
packaging on the market to improve
its recyclability, the main
objective here is to ensure that the
guidelines are based on scientifi c
results, that they are dynamic and
that they can be easily implemented
by all the market players. This
will be the major signal for the industry
to design plastic packaging
that facilitates sorting and recycling
processes, as well as increasing
the quality of the recyclates.
Q: How is PRE facilitating the
achievement of these goals?
Furfari: The EU legislation sets
targets that must be met by the
whole industry, while companies
strive to transition from linear towards
a circular economy. Therefore,
it is vital to ensure that there
are clear and harmonized rules
for all the players, paired with
mechanisms and tools that can
monitor the progress, as well as
verify the reliability of the environmental
claims.
This is where RecyClass comes
in. It is a nonprofi t, cross-industry
initiative driving the scientifi c
work to advance recyclability of
plastics, as well as the transparent
uptake of recycled plastic and its
calculation in new products. RecyClass
was developed by recyclers
but today its know-how is based
on the expert knowledge from the
whole value chain, including raw
material producers, label, closures
and decoration manufacturers,
as well as recyclers.
Beyond that, PRE is a strong
advocate for the harmonization
of the different practices and
standards across the EU market.
Our organization works on market
studies and runs projects that
help identify best practices. These
are then used to set benchmarks
aimed at advancing and creating a
level playing fi eld within the European
plastic recycling market.
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+1 316.284.2020 | www.buntingmagnetics.com
Email: newton@buntingmagnetics.com
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+44(0)1527 65858 | www.bunting-redditch.com
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022

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