EuRIC creates event to advocate for recyclers

The Brussels-based European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) has opened registration for a March 30 event in Brussels it says is being designed to bring together “both policymakers and experts from across the recycling value chain to discuss mounting regulatory pressures.”

At the “Boosting recycling through future-fit policies” one-day event, EuRIC says it is inviting policymakers and stakeholders representing all recyclable materials to engage in a “frank discussion” on looming regulatory hurdles. 

Among the scheduled speakers is Aurel Ciobaneu-Dordea, who has circular economy responsibilities within the Director General-Environment office of the European Commission.

That office, says EuRIC, is directly involved in numerous approved and proposed regulatory changes. “From the EU’s proposed Waste Shipment Regulation to the Critical Raw Materials Act, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the Textiles Strategy, upcoming eco-design and chemicals legislation and much more, the European recycling industry has never faced such a significant wave of regulatory challenges and opportunities,” states the federation.

EuRIC and its member federations (including the Bureau of International Recycling, or BIR) have been attempting to convince the EU that some of its policies are at odds with its stated goal of “acknowledging the instrumental role of the recycling industries in achieving a climate neutral and resource efficient society envisaged under the EU’s Green Deal.”

States EuRIC, “More specifically, recognition of a vibrant, well-functioning secondary raw materials market that facilitates the uptake of recycled materials in the manufacture of new products is often lacking” when new regulations are drafted.

More information on registering for the March 30 event can be found on this web page.