Recyclers on the continent have slammed a move to water down recycled-content rules for new vehicles.
Industry body EuRIC said the European Council’s latest position statement on used plastic in new cars, vans, trucks and bikes was “a step backwards” that could “undermine investor confidence”.
The EU in 2023 mooted enforcing a minimum quota of 25 per cent of plastic in new vehicles coming from recycled sources.
Last year EuRIC called for this to be brought in within four years of regulations passing, rather than six as expected.
However, the European Council this week published a new position statement saying the target should not kick in for a decade after the law changes. It added that the quota after six years should be just 15 per cent.
EuRIC senior technical manager Maria Vera Duran said: “The reduction in ambition sends the wrong signal to recyclers, manufacturers and investors.”
EU minister for climate and environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska said the new end-of-life vehicle regulation was “a game-changer for Europe”.
“It cuts waste, curbs our reliance on critical raw materials from abroad and drives our car industry into the heart of the circular economy,” she insisted.
