CONFERENCE REPORT
25recyclinginternational.com | July/August | 2024
between virgin materials and recy-
clates, the commissioner acknowl-
edged it was not politically appealing
to ‘tax virgin more’. But he suggest-
ed, alongside other measures to
make recyclates more attractive, they
could be taxed less. During questions
afterwards, Ciobanu-Dordea said
lower taxes for recyclates was a ‘topic
for active consideration; we need to
reflect on this’.
As for converting the Waste Directive
to one about resources, he thought it
was ‘a tall order – but we hear the
call’.
Turning specifically to the forthcom-
ing ELV Directive for end-of-life vehi-
cles, the commissioner hoped it
would enter into force by July 2025.
He praised the recent work of the
Belgian presidency in driving it for-
ward and believed the subsequent
Hungarian and Polish presidencies
would maintain progress. But cau-
tioned this would need the support of
the automotive sector and the OEMs
in particular.
‘Some of the big beasts of the car
industry have engaged with us. But
not everyone has and some have lob-
bied against us. We call on all manu-
facturers in Europe to … find the
median line that works for every-
body.’
CR ‘IMPORTANT’
Ciobanu-Dordea thought that the
proposed eco-design directive would
‘dovetail’ into the ELV directive in
terms of the sustainability of steel,
aluminium and tyres. Meanwhile, he
expected the Single Use directive for
plastics to recognise the use of CR for
plastics and packaging.
‘Chemical recycling will play an
important role as plastic exports [from
Europe] are removed,’ he said, while
insisting that mechanical recycling
would not be ‘economically intimidat-
ed’ by CR. He thought CR would be
relevant for tyre recycling.
The commissioner concluded: ‘We
plan to stay engaged with you –
together with the automotive indus-
The ELV sector in Europe is currently blighted by the loss of vehicles through
illegal exports beyond the EU’s boundaries.
24-25-26_iarcpart1.indd 25 03-07-2024 10:08
