The European Commission has launched its Circular Plastics Alliance, an initiative to reduce plastic waste and promote recycling of plastics.
The Circular Plastics Alliance, a multi-stakeholder platform, will comprise key industry stakeholders from every step of the plastics value chain, including waste collectors, recyclers, plastics producers and retailers; and will aim to boost recycling of plastics in the EU. Stakeholders will be drawn particularly from the packaging, construction and automotive sectors – all of which have been identified as producing high volumes of waste plastics – and will pursue three primary objectives:
Promoting short term, coordinated actions and investments in European plastics recycling;
Reporting on obstacles faced by the Circular Plastics Alliance, in order to identify and address issues facing circular plastics initiatives; and
Monitoring the Alliance’s progress towards increased recycling and reuse of plastics in Europe.
The European Strategy For Plastics, adopted in January 2018, commits Member States to ensuring new products on the EU market must include at least 10 million tons of recycled plastics by 2025. The Commission hopes the Circular Plastics Alliance will facilitate its progress towards this goal.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “Close cooperation within and between all the links in the plastics value chain is essential if we are to achieve a true circular plastics economy and ensure that recycled plastics find their way to new products, instead of into landfills or the incinerators. The Circular Plastics Alliance aims to facilitate this cooperation, building on the commitments the plastics industry has already made and encouraging even more ambitious action. Europe already leads this, and Europe will be the first one to reap the benefits as well. This is the best way to show the world that circular plastic economy is good for the business and good for the environment.”
The Circular Plastics Alliance will hold its first meeting in February 2019 as part of the EU Industry Days.
