Mandatory Recycled Content in Plastic Bottles Wins; Private Waste Management Industry Rejoices

The private waste management sector, represented by FEAD, the European Federation for Waste Management and Environmental Services, rejoices as the final trilogue on the Single-Use Plastic Directive yields a positive vote for a 30 % mandatory recycled content in all beverage bottles by 2030, with an intermediary target by 25% in 2025 for PET bottles. This percentage will be calculated as an average for each member state.

This is an essential component to ensure the success of the 90% collection target, to be achieved in 2029, as well as a huge step forward for stimulating the demand for secondary materials, and for driving the necessary investment in collection, sorting and recycling.

The private waste management industry has been in strong support of such a proposal to be given the green light. We will now start to plan the necessary investments that are needed in our sector to innovate and expand the separate collection, develop sorting and recycling capacity across Europe. We are ready to deliver the quality and quantity, and play our role in transforming the vision of a new plastics economy into reality.

FEAD’s president, Jean-Marc Boursier said:

“This crucial signal to the market will trigger investments in sorting and recycling facilities. A demand shock in the EU is truly needed to boost recycling and make Circular Economy a reality. This new Directive will show how a real demand policy will dramatically raise the uptake for recycled plastics in beverage bottles, by gathering all market actors along the production and waste value chain”.

Read our full press release here.

FEAD Issues Position Paper on Norway’s Proposal to the Basel Convention

In a bid to combat marine litter, Norway has submitted a proposal to restrict exports of plastic waste, by amending the Basel Convention. The proposal aims at submitting exports of ‘green listed’ plastic waste for recovery and in most cases also for recycling to a notification procedure.

FEAD, as representatives of the private Waste Management Industry, would like to warn against this proposal which would do much more harm than good as it would thwart the development of an EU market for plastic recycling.

The notification procedure would seriously hinder the development of an EU market for plastic recycling. It would raise the administrative burden and the costs of shipping plastic waste to EU countries where they are further prepared, or it would make shipping simply impossible. The proposal is unclear, with classifications subject to confusion and varying interpretations. This will result in delays, costs, legal cases. FEAD is opposed to a revision making major plastic flows destined for recycling or recovery operations no longer benefit from the green procedure.

In view of Norway’s proposal, FEAD has reacted with a position paper which calls for:   

• A robust impact assessment since the Norwegian proposal could negatively impact plastic recycling and recovery;
• Complementing measures to stimulate European demand for recycled materials and investment in recycling capacities (e.g. Packaging and WEEE plastics);
• Sufficient lead in time to allow new recycling infrastructure to be built;
• A clear commitment by the EU to limit delays for notified shipments;
• Consideration to be given to intra EU trade.

 Please see our press release and our position paper for further information.

Recycled Content in Plastic Bottles: Private Waste Management Industry Ready to Commit

The Austrian Presidency, as well as several Member States, such as Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, already expressed their support for the European Parliament’s proposal. In view of the upcoming COREPER I (14 December), FEAD would like to urge the other Member States, as well as the Commission, to be open to mandatory recycled content.

A mandatory recycled content target will send, through the waste and material value chain, a strong signal to boost the offer of, and the demand for recycled plastics, as well as provide operators with the necessary certainty they need to make significant investments in plastics recycling from packaging products. It would also send a strong signal to incentivise the production of recyclable bottles, rather than single-use ones.

The private waste management sector is committed to delivering the quantity and the quality needed by the producers.

Read more about our press release here.

FEAD Press Release - April 2018

FEAD welcomes the EP draft own-initiative report on the Plastics Strategy

FEAD members welcome the publication of the draft own-initiative report on a European strategy for plastics in a circular economy by rapporteur MEP Mark Demesmaeker as a step forward for designing a new vision for plastics as part of the transition to a circular economy. In view of the foreseen consideration of the draft report this week in the ENVI committee, FEAD would like to draw the attention of the MEPs to crucial points for the private waste and resource management industry.

A strong demand for recycled plastics will only result from concrete binding actions, accompanied by economic measures to bridge the price gap detrimental to plastics from recyclates.

Find more in our press release, available here. 

FEAD Press Release - April 2018

FEAD welcomes the progress made to pave the way for the transition to a circular economy

Following the adoption by the European Parliament of the final agreement on the Circular Economy Package, FEAD members welcome the progress made to pave the way for the transition to a circular economy.

The private waste and resource management industry welcomes the legally binding targets, as a necessary push towards better collection and sorting of waste.

For more information, please click here.

FEAD Press Release - November 2017

FEAD calls for EU-wide mandatory GPP criteria for plastic products

FEAD members welcome the non-legislative Public Procurement Package : “Increasing the impact of public investment through efficient and professional procurement” and support the Commission’s continued efforts to ensure that the public procurement rules are properly implemented across the internal market. FEAD believes that public procurement, and in particular GPP–green public procurement, is one of the tools that can contribute to the transition from a linear to a circular economy.

For more information, please click here