According to a report, Plastics – The Facts 2015, released from PlasticsEurope, EU 28+2 recycled 6.3m tonnes, 39.5 percent, of its 15.9m tonnes plastic packaging waste in 2014, easily surpassing the EU’s minimum target of 22.5 percent. PlasticsEurope and EPRO, with assistance from Consultic GmbH have collected the data presented in this report.
Increasing plastic packaging recycling
The recycling rate for plastic packaging rose from 34.7 percent in 2012 to 39.5 percent in 2014. This shows that the national recycling schemes in Europe, based on extended producer responsibility (EPR), manage well, EPRO says. Each country has normally, either by law or a covenant, fixed national targets for recycling and energy recovery. These regulations are based on the EU directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EU).
Except for Malta, all the EU 28+ 2 countries in 2014 exceeded the EU minimum targets of 22.5 percent recycling. 24 countries (19 in 2012) recycled more than 30 percent, 12 countries even surpassed 40 percent. In 2014, Czech Republic ranked on the top with a recycling rate of 52.1 percent followed by Germany, Slovenia, Sweden and Ireland.
Plastic packaging waste from households vs trade and industry
Sixty-four percent of the post-consumer plastic packaging waste is generated from households, the remaining 36 percent, comes from the industry segment. The recycling rate for trade and industry sector reached 42.8 percent (37.6 percent in 2012), while recycling for the households segment obtained 37.7 percent (33 percent). Recycling rates are thus increasing in both sectors.
The following EPRO countries include all kinds of plastic packaging in their collection schemes for households: Germany, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, either in a separate plastics fraction or together with other lightweight packaging (yellow bin). In other countries like Austria and UK, some parts of the country collect all plastic packaging while other regions concentrate on just rigid plastic packaging. Germany, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden also have a deposit system for most of the beverage bottles. In Belgium, France and Switzerland, the EPR systems focus on rigid plastics (bottles), but France is about to expand, step by step, the scope of the system to comprise all plastic packaging. How to sort, recycle and recover mixed streams of plastic packaging is a key topic for EPRO working groups. In addition, design for recycling is also a key issue for EPRO.
More energy recovery also, but less landfilling
Energy recovery hit 38.5 percent in 2014 (34.5 percent in 2012). In total 78.0 percent (72.5 percent) of all plastic packaging waste was recovered in 2014, the balance going to landfills and incineration without energy recovery; 3.5m tonnes of plastic packaging ended in landfills last year.
There are still big differences on energy recovery results within Europe. Ten countries energy recovered more than 50 percent of their plastic packaging waste in 2014 and obtained all a total recovery rate (recycling + energy recovery) above 90 percent. This means that less than 10 percent was landfilled in these countries. At the other end of the ranking list, we find a couple of countries that still does not energy recover any plastic waste. Ten countries landfilled more than 40 percent of their plastic packaging waste, among them Spain with 41 percent.
Plastic waste in general
The recycling result for packaging of 39.5 percent is better than for other plastic applications. The overall recycling rate for plastics reached 29.7 percent in 2014.
While 40 percent of all plastic products put on the market are packaging, packaging contributes by 62 percent to all plastic waste generated and as much as 81 percent to all plastics recycled. Over 7m tonnes of plastic waste were recycled in 2014, of which 6.3m tonnes packaging. Packaging thus lift the average recycling rates for all plastics in Europe, EPRO said.
Plastic waste from agriculture
Several EPRO members are also active within the agriculture sector, collecting and recovering agriculture film and other non-packaging plastics in addition to rigid plastic packaging waste from farmers.
In 2014, the agriculture sector generated 1.4m tonnes of post-consumer non-packaging plastic waste. This equals 5 percent of all plastic waste generated within EU28+2. In 2014, 28.0 percent (26.4 percent) of this was recycled, while 31.1 percent (28.4 percent) was energy recovered. The rest, 40.9 percent (45.2 percent) went to landfill. EPRO wants, in cooperation with other involved organizations, to contribute to more diversion of agriculture plastic waste from European landfills.
In 2011, EPRO established a working group focusing on collection and recovery of plastic waste from the agricultural sector. This expert group exchanges knowledge and best practice among EPRO members and is networking with other organizations. In November 2015, RIGK together with EPRO organized the first International Recycling Forum for Agricultural plastics in Wiesbaden with 120 participants from 22 countries. “We can obtain synergies between agri-packaging and agri non-packaging plastic recycling, thus we join forces,” EPRO members said.
In October, EPRO and CICLOPLAST organized in Madrid a Talks-Debate about recycling plastics where experts discussed the keys to a further increase of plastic recycling in Europe. EPRO expects that extended producer responsibility, EPR, will remain a key instrument for a circular economy. EPRO also expects higher recycling targets. The results for 2014 underline that EPR and EPRO members make a
difference.
EPRO is the association of the national organizations charged with organizing and promoting recycling and recovery of plastics throughout Europe. EPRO provides a unique forum for the leading specialists in plastics waste management from across Europe to exchange learning, develop integrated plastics packaging waste strategies and support technological development. EPRO has 18 members from 15 countries in Europe, Canada and South Africa.
Published in the February 2016 Edition of American Recycler News