EU recyclers consider ‘future-fit policies’   

‘To boost the transition towards a circular and climate neutral economy, we need more harmonised End-of-Waste criteria at EU level, recycled content for and beyond plastics as well as design for recycling.’ So said Emmanual Katrakis, secretary-general of Europe’s recycling industry umbrella EuRIC at the body’s annual conference.

Policymakers, recyclers and other circular economy stakeholders gathered in Brussels to discuss challenges and opportunies to boost recycling through what EuRIC calls ‘future-fit policies’. The day offered insights into various topics from design as driver for recycling to enhancing the circularity of critical raw materials.

Ambitious actions  

One of the main points of discussion was how Europe can become more circular with the right policies by simultaneously supporting to reach a climate neutral economy. Mattia Pellegrini, Head of the “From Waste to Resource” unit at the European Commission’s DG Environment welcomed delegates by highlighting that ‘the European Green Deal and its ambitious actions are priority number one of the European Commission and that when there are market failures, more recycled content targets will be established to boost recycling and the circular economy’.

70 times lower impact

The afternoon concluded with a session on EU funding opportunities and parallel sessions focussing on packaging and textiles. For the latter, MEP Delara Burkhardt (S&D) stressed that ‘textile waste has a value and should not be considered as burden but an economic asset’. Mariska Boer, who leads EuRIC’s textiles division, highlighted the body’s recent study on European used clothing showing that reusing apparel has a 70 times lower environmental impact than producing new.

Regarding packaging, Ioannis Antonopoulos from the European Commission emphasised the giant leap expected from the proposed regulation that will boost the sustainability of packaging products in comparison with a business-as-usual scenario.