EU Leadership: A Policy Framework for Plastic Recycling

Plastic consumption has surged in recent years, mirroring global economic growth and serving needs in a variety of products and packaging. However, this generates 360 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, 71 percent of which is poorly managed and risks leaking into the environment. Plastic waste pollution is a global challenge that needs to be addressed in every region.

Martyn Tickner is Chief Advisor, Circular Solutions at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

In March 2022, 175 countries participating in the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi collectively endorsed a resolution to combat plastic pollution. This landmark agreement signifies a unified, global commitment to address the plastic waste crisis. This will however require tailored strategies, consistent with the different levels of waste management maturity and capabilities of each individual country.

The recently launched Plastic Waste Management Framework, published by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (the “Alliance”) with the support of Roland Berger, identifies six different categories of waste management maturity. They range from Category 1, “Undeveloped Systems”, in which waste management infrastructure and relevant policy are almost completely absent, to Category 6, “Developed Performing Systems”, where a handful of countries – namely Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the Republic of Korea – are leading the way on the transition to a circular economy of plastics.

An analysis of 192 countries identified that over 70 percent of nations classified as Category 5, “Advanced Systems with Challenges”, or Category 6 are EU member states, achieving a recycling rate for packaging waste above 40 or 50 percent respectively. In comparison, Asia recycles around 12 percent of plastic waste and North America just 5 percent.

Furthermore, plastic waste that is not recycled in those more advanced countries is disposed of in controlled landfills or waste-to-energy facilities. However, plastic waste in countries at an earlier stage of waste management maturity is often unmanaged and leaks into the environment or is littered in uncontrolled dump sites where open burning is common, resulting in high carbon and potentially toxic emissions.

 

 

 

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