Position paper on mass balancing
VCI and PED have presented a position paper on the measurement of recycled content in plastic products.
With the initiative, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) and PlasticsEurope Deutschland (PED) say they want to promote chemical recycling processes as a complement to mechanical processes and create certainty for investments in these technologies. They propose a mass balance approach for the assessment basis of the product shares obtained from chemical processes. This approach would allow the proportions of recycled raw materials to be traceably assigned to an end product. "Mass balance methods ensure transparency and efficiency in the use of secondary raw materials and are thus a basis for more recycling and more circular economy" explains Dr. Alexander Kronimus, head of the Climate Protection and Circular Economy business unit at PED. Dr. Jörg Rothermel, VCI division manager for energy, climate protection and raw materials, adds: "Anyone who wants to achieve climate protection targets should use innovative technologies such as chemical recycling. A first important step would be to recognize the mass balance for recycling fractions." Mass balances are standardized (ISO 22095) and are already routinely used today - for example, in fair trade for coffee and textiles, in the use of renewable raw materials and in the purchase of green electricity, the associations argue. The technologies grouped under the term chemical recycling were suitable for recycling plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled and are still incinerated. The energy converted during the incineration of plastics could be used, but important raw materials are lost in the process. The member companies of the two associations were waiting for full legal recognition of chemical recycling so that they could invest billions in these processes in Germany and the EU and scale up production facilities.
Further information: to download the VCI and PED position paper (in German)
Sources:
- Plasticker (March 8, 2023)
- Photo: unsplash.com, Nareeta Martin