A large group of plastic-recycling organisations has written to the president of the European Commission demanding a raft of policy measures to boost the ailing sector.
Twenty-eight bodies including Plastics Recyclers Europe, EuRIC and the European Waste Management Association signed a letter to Ursula von der Leyen this month warning of an “unprecedented crisis”.
The group wrote: “Soaring energy costs, legal uncertainty, regulatory fragmentation and intensifying global competition are steadily eroding the sector’s resilience and undermining its capacity to invest, innovate and compete.”
The letter set out six recommendations including better promotion of recycled plastic made within the EU.
This should include higher incentives to invest in the necessary infrastructure, alongside public procurement reform, it insisted.
Other recommendations included slashing energy costs for recyclers; boosting resources at enforcement bodies; and better implementation of existing laws.
Innovation and investment should be better encouraged, said the group, and producer responsibility rules harmonised.
The letter added: “Either we urgently double down on enforcement, targeted investment and fair competition or the vision of a circular plastics economy in Europe will not materialise.”
