A need for supply

The plastic scrap market throughout most of Europe has been tepid for the past several quarters. With little upward pricing movement seen in most plastic scrap sectors, a key focus for European legislators has been increasing the overall supply of plastics that can be recycled.

For handlers of plastic scrap, prices have remained static, with signs of a modest softening in a handful of key plastic grades.

Although pricing has been listless through most of this year, a significant amount of activity from various European Union (EU) agencies continues.

These efforts have been, for the most part, embraced by plastics recyclers in Europe. With the challenging outlook for the plastic recycling industry throughout Europe, many recyclers are seeking a catalyst to boost collections.

One key goal in strengthening the volume of plastics available for recycling continues to be dipping further into the waste stream to extract this material. PET (polyethylene terepthalate) plastics, commonly used to make beverage containers, is one sector that continues to be a success story. Meanwhile, the recycling of other types of packaging is another area of interest within the EU.

The recent adoption of the Circular Economy Package by the European Commission seeks to spur further investment in plastics recycling as well as a host of other materials. Reflecting the approval of the package, four European-based recycling associations—the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), the EU Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association (Eurometaux), Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) and the Groupement Européen de l’Industrie de la Régénération (GEIR)—welcomed the proposals, which included a progressive landfill ban on recyclable material, better data reporting, new requirements on waste exports to fight against illegal shipments of waste, the link between innovation and ambitious recycling targets.

The ultimate goal of the policy would be to boost the recycling rates throughout the EU to 70% by 2030. With regard to plastics, the policy seeks to increase the recycling of packaging to 80% by 2030, with plastics recycling levels to reach 60% by 2030. Other goals include phasing out landfilling of all recyclables by 2025 and increasing the cost-effectiveness of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes by defining minimum conditions.
 

While agreeing with the general concept, the four recycling associations have expressed a need for further clarification of some points. For example, the groups say the proposed definition of recycling is too broad; it can create confusion with collection, sorting or pre-processing, while it should be clearly defined to favor high-quality processing/recovery of materials so as to contribute to resource efficiency and a sustainable access to valuable materials.

The reference to high-quality recycling, while valuable, focuses too much on quantity and not enough on supporting higher quality collection, sorting and recycling of the various types of materials. A more product-centric approach to recycling that considers the entirety of raw materials in specific product groups is recommended.

Regarding end-of-waste status, the groups say the concept of quality treatment and recycling should be applied. If waste reaching end-of-waste status is simply exported outside the EU with no guarantee of quality treatment, the status will not contribute to the EU circular economy.

Ambitious collection and recycling targets can be an important driver for increasing recycling levels.

With a goal of boosting plastics recycling levels, in the short term there appears to be concern over the general trend for the material. Prior to a plastics recycling conference held in the U.K. in June, Herbert Snell, vice chairman of Plastics Recyclers Europe’s (PRE’s) HDPE/PP (high-density polyethylene/polypropylene) division, noted that plastics recyclers need to boost the collection of HDPE and PP bottles. Over the past several years, Snell noted, quantities of these streams have been declining.

In noting challenges involved in boosting the recycling rate for plastic packaging, the PRE estimates 57 million tonnes of plastics are used every year in Europe with slightly more than 25% recycled within the continent. Meanwhile, new technology on the sorting end could boost overall recycling rates.

Snell told attendees of the Plastics Recycling Expo in June in U.K. that Europe’s capacity to process quality HDPE/PP bales exceeds the volumes that are currently being collected and that PRE hopes the efforts to increase this collection will start soon in the most important countries in the EU.

He continued to say that European plastics recyclers have been ready for the last few years to tackle the stream of HDPE and PP bottles and are looking forward to contributing to the mechanical recycling targets set by the EU institutions to move towards a more circular economy in Europe. He said many new markets that use recycled HDPE and recycled PP can be developed and that many innovations are still possible, even in food grade applications.

Eric Roebuck, chief executive of Germany’s BVSE, commented on the growth of bulky plastics recycling at the organisation’s 17th International Conference on Recycling of Plastics, June 3-4, in Neuenahr, Germany. He added that applications for recycled materials are expanding.

As for China, a key destination for a great deal of plastic scrap, China’s Ministry of Commerce says the country intends to prohibit both the import and export of plastic materials that fall under the category of “reprocessing waste plastics.”

While the Chinese ministry notes that this grade makes up less than 5% of the plastic scrap being imported to the country, the overall impact could be significant, as there are believed to be a significant number of companies with import permits under this category in China.