European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) and Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) fully support the European Parliament’s draft report issued on 9 July, to make it mandatory to produce beverage containers with at least 25% of recycled plastics by 2025. The report of ENVI Committee Rapporteur, MEP Frédérique RIES, aims to amend the 'proposal for a Directive... on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (“Single Use Plastics” Directive)'.
This proposal, as acknowledged in the draft report, will encourage the creation of a steady market for recyclates, and will ensure a more circular use of plastics. It is a key measure in shifting away from the ever increasing production of single-use plastic bottles, while recyclable ones do not follow the same trend. Collecting up to 90% plastic bottles in 2025, as proposed in the Directive, is a welcomed first step but will not be enough to steer the plastic markets towards less single-use bottles. Designing recyclable packaging items is necessary to facilitate recycling, and a strong signal is needed to boost both the offer of recyclable plastics and the demand of recycled plastics. The draft EP proposal to include at least 25% of recycled plastics in beverage containers is a crucial first step in this direction, and we fully support its inclusion in the legal text.
FEAD and EuRIC, alongside 33 other stakeholders, recently called for the EU to take action and broaden the introduction of recycled content mandates for plastic packaging and products containing plastics in general. The introduction of recycled content in products and packaging by 2025 would considerably boost the market for recycled plastics in Europe, while pushing to minimise the space that non-recyclable ones occupy.
