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Industry position on circular economy & climate protection

The German plastics and recycling industry has published a joint position on circular economy and climate protection.

In their position paper, the manufacturers', processors', machine builders' and recyclers' associations involved in the initiative, Plastics Europe Deutschland, the GKV Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie, the VDMA Fachverband Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen, and the waste disposal and recycling industry organizations BDE and bvse, declare a functioning circular economy for plastics to be the goal of their cooperation, which they intend to intensify even further. Plastics already made an important contribution to climate protection and the increased use of used plastics could further improve the CO2 balance. However, the positions and proposed measures are also an appeal to politicians and the public to assume responsibility for greater resource conservation and climate protection and to take advantage of the associated opportunities. For the plastics and recycling industry, recycling-friendly product design represents the basic prerequisite for a functioning circular economy for plastics and is mentioned in the position paper as the first of a total of nine points. In the view of those involved in the initiative, only products that can be economically recycled using industrial processes should be part of a circular economy. Secondly, the associations cite the separate collection of plastic waste as an important prerequisite for the economic and high-quality recycling of plastic waste. They call for an improvement in the separate collection of household and commercial waste in Germany and Europe and for the establishment of a deposit system for beverage bottles. Thirdly, they demand that there should be no "eco-dumping" when exporting used plastics outside the EU and to OECD countries. Another point concerns mechanical recycling and chemical recovery processes, which the associations believe can complement each other. Chemical processes, in which plastic waste is broken down into its chemical components, which can then be further processed as basic materials such as synthetic gas or oil, were particularly suitable for mixed and heavily contaminated plastic waste or composites as a supplement to mechanical recycling. The associations also call for an EU-wide end to the landfilling of used plastics and for improved market conditions for the use of recyclates. In their view, this also requires a clear political roadmap and the necessary legal framework. With their position and proposals, the associations want to promote dialog with other partners from the plastics industry as well as representatives from politics, science and civil society, whom they also see as key co-designers on the road to a circular economy.

 

Further information: to download the position paper (German language)

Sources:

  • Plastics Europe press release (10/28/2021)
  • Image: © Plastics Europe
 

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