The European Commission (EC) published a press release on November 13, 2020, announcing the first delivered actions of its Circular Plastics Alliance. The EC summarizes three of its most important deliverables. These include, firstly, a work plan for design-for-recycling of plastic products that currently lists 19 plastic products that should be made more recyclable. Secondly, it proposes a state-of-play on waste collection and sorting in Europe that gives an overview of the current situation in Europe. Finally, it composes a research and development (R&D) agenda for recycled plastics, highlighting strategic and specific R&D needs.

The Circular Plastics Alliance includes over 175 organizations from industry, the public and academia. It has been formed under the EC’s objective to improve the economics and quality of recycled plastics (FPF reported) and to achieve the final goal of transforming 10 million metric tons of recycled plastics into new products by 2025.

Additional updates are planned to follow by early 2021, including, among others, (1) a monitoring system to track plastics in Europe, (2) a report for untapped potential in sorting and waste collection, and (3) a mapping of related investment needs.

References

EC (November 13, 2020). “Commitments and deliverables of the Circular Plastics Alliance.”

EC (March 4, 2020). “Circular Plastics Alliance – Design-for-Recycling Workplan.”

EC (October 15, 2020). “Summary of the commitments and deliverables of the Alliance.”

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