Page 7 from: West Coast report + Plastics Special

INTERVIEW

7recyclinginternational.com | July/August | 2019

actually a blessing as the input of
recyclers was very much welcomed by
EU policy-makers who put recycling at
the top of their priorities.
Another challenge was to quickly
build a solid network around EuRIC’s
membership to advocate recyclers’
position in Brussels and the capitals of
each Member State. I am immensely
grateful to our members as we have
been very effective in building such a
network.’

PLASTICS HAVE BEEN HIGH ON
THE AGENDA, MAINLY CAUSED
BY ASIA’S IMPORT RESTRIC-
TIONS. IS THIS WHY EURIC IN
2018 LAUNCHED A PLASTICS
DIVISION?
‘Plastics are indeed making the head-
lines today but Asia’s import restric-
tions were actually not the main driver
for launching the European Plastics
Recycling Branch (EPRB). Regulatory
developments, some of which put
state-of-the-art plastics recycling
activities at risk, have steadily
increased over the last three years and
were taking a significant share of our
work. So we felt it was urgent to cre-
ate a new branch dealing solely with
plastics recycling. One of our major
achievements, definitely, is the inclu-
sion of mandatory recycled content
targets in the Single-Use Plastics
Directive. It took a lot of joint advoca-
cy efforts to explain the time had
come not only to look at how to
improve collection and recycling but
also to resolutely push demand for
recycled plastics in packaging bever-
ages placed on the market.’

THERE ARE RECYCLERS WHO SEE
EURIC AS A SERIOUS COMPETI-
TOR TO BIR. DO YOU AGREE?
‘EuRIC and BIR both play important
roles but different ones. EuRIC repre-
sents the interests of European recy-
clers. Advocating the interests of an
industry before European institutions
is a full-time job, which requires spe-
cific and in-depth knowledge of EU
decision-making and a team of profes-

sionals with complementary skills. BIR,
on the other hand, represents the
industry globally and has developed
over decades of existence a unique
network and expertise at UN or OECD
level. In the coming years, more will
continue to be asked of recyclers, be
it in terms of quality, market resilience
or administrative constraints. To
address these issues, the industry will
more than ever need to be strong in
all stages: national, European and
international. The role of organisa-
tions such as EuRIC or BIR will natural-
ly keep growing.’

WHICH ARE THE THREE MAIN
GOALS ACHIEVED BY EURIC IN
THE PAST FIVE YEARS?
‘First, EuRIC has empowered the recy-
cling industry which is today systemati-
cally consulted by the EU institutions
and is present in most of the relevant
conferences at European level. In practi-
cal terms we have opened many doors
to ensure that recycling professionals
can directly convey their concerns and
solutions to EU policy-makers.
Second, EuRIC has the ability to advo-
cate and make a difference for the
industry on highly technical topics, be
it for example BREF laying down per-
mit conditions for most of the shred-
ders operating in Europe or measures
regulating substances in metals or
plastics. Some of the actions carried
out have saved the industry millions of
euros by ensuring that proposed
requirements support, instead of ham-
pering, recycling while setting high
health and environmental standards.
Third, by offering more networking
opportunities to our membership.
EuRIC launched the European
Recycling Conference (ERC) three
years ago with the simple idea of tak-
ing European policy developments to
a different country every year. After
Milan and Berlin, the third edition of
the ERC, organised with FEDEREC
[French recycling association], will take
place on 19 September in Paris, an
ideal place to celebrate EuRIC’s fifth
anniversary.’

LOOKING BEYOND THE HORI-
ZON, WHICH MAIN CHALLENGES
LIE AHEAD FOR EUROPE’S RECY-
CLING INDUSTRY?
‘Quite a few… Recycling will continue
to be on top of the policy makers’
agendas since it is a key element of
the circular economy and enables
them to combat climate change. From
a business perspective, uncertainty in
international markets is not likely to
disappear overnight, nor will the call
for higher quality recycled materials
that means more requests for stan-
dardisation. On the other hand, with
eco-design to boost recycling gaining
traction – which is an excellent thing –
the level of interaction between man-
ufacturers and retailers will continue
to increase. Simplifying and harmonis-
ing rules as well as improving enforce-
ment will remain a key priority to level
the playing field of waste manage-
ment and recycling in Europe. Last,
but by far not least, time has come to
reward recycling’s environmental ben-
efits in terms of CO2 and energy sav-
ings and pull the demand for recycled
materials into new products.’

PASSIONATE ABOUT RECYCLING
Emmanuel Katrakis grew up in France with part of
his family coming from Greece. He graduated in
European law from different universities: Paris, the
College of Europe in Bruges and the Free
University of Brussels.
‘I also spent a year in Norway as part of an Erasmus
exchange programme and that experience made
me realise that I wanted to work abroad,’ he says.
‘On top of that, Norway has one of the most amaz-
ing landscapes and I would advise anyone to visit
and keep some free time for hiking.’
After completing his studies, Katrakis first worked
in an international law firm in Paris and Brussels
before joining trade associations representing spe-
cific industrial sectors. ‘After five years working for
the recycling industry, I am still passionate about it.
Much has to do with the people I have had the
chance to meet and recycling’s very purpose,
namely to turn waste into new resources and make
a living out of it.’

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