Four challenges ahead for European recyclers

The departing secretary general of EuRIC Emmanuel Katrakis has set out four key issues for European recyclers in the coming years.

Katrakis was speaking exclusively to Recycling International ahead of leaving the umbrella organisation at the end of the month.

His first major concern is over the EU’s industrial policy. While it establishes environmental goals, such as decarbonisation by 2050, it is seen as offering little help to the wider industry to get there.

‘We end up with a pile of legislation with targets but we don’t have sufficient incentives,’ Katrakis argues. ‘We have a lot of sticks but no efficient carrots. I hope the next Commission will have fewer sticks and more carrots to pull the demand for recycled materials across value chains.’

Another area of concern is ‘green’ taxation regimes such as VAT rebates for products that use recycled materials. Targets for recycled content make sense but they are not enough on their own – producers need more financial encouragement, he believes.

Valuable materials

A third issue is getting away from the concept of waste while recognising the value of ‘recycled raw materials’ recovered from waste streams.

‘Why on earth can’t we have end-of-waste status for many of those streams? For example, we have agreed common standards with the tyre manufacturers’ association. The entire value chain agrees. But we are still waiting – this bureaucracy takes way too much time.’

The fourth major worry is the apparent growing trend globally to restrict trade flows of scrap. Regulations heralded by policy makers as ‘resource efficiency’, are too often ‘protectionism’ by another name, EuRIC contends.

Ten years after becoming the founding secretary general of EuRIC, Katrakis is being succeeded by his deputy Julia Blees.

Read more on their views at this important milestone in the April/May issue of Recycling International.