
amixstudio | stock.adobe.com
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on rules for calculating, verifying and reporting recycled content in single-use plastic beverage bottles, including chemically recycled content.
The commission says the adoption of the rules will enable chemical recycling in the European Union and will help economic actors meet the recycled content targets set under the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
“By incentivizing investments and supporting new recycling technologies, the rules will boost the competitiveness of both the EU chemical industry and manufacturers that use plastics in their production, helping to establish Europe as a leader in sustainable innovation,” the commission says. “The measures will also benefit the environment, as they will economically incentivize producers to reuse plastic waste, rather than disposing of it in landfills, littering or incinerating it.”
The rules are part of the new Action Plan for the EU Chemicals Industry, the commission says, designed to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness and drive its transition toward safe, sustainable and innovative chemical production.
The commission notes that the EU faces increasing volumes of plastic scrap, creating an “urgent need” to scale up plastic collection, sorting and recycling. To reach its targets, the commission says the EU supports all recycling technologies that are better for the environment than incineration or landfill disposal, including mechanical recycling, which typically is preferred over chemical recycling because it is “less polluting and more energy efficient.”
However, the commission adds, when mechanical recycling is not feasible or when higher quality standards are needed, such as for food packaging, chemical recycling provides a valuable alternative.
“The new rules will ensure transparency in calculating the amount of chemically recycled content in new single-use plastic bottles for beverages,” the commission says. “By setting up a clear calculation methodology, the rules will create a level playing field and provide investment security for the sector in a technology-neutral way.”
According to the commission, the methodology for calculating this is based on the “fuel-use excluded” allocation rule, which means that scrap used to produce fuels or energy recovery cannot be counted as recycled content, in line with the definition of “recycling” in the Waste Framework Directive. The commission says the rules aim to balance transparency with minimal administrative burden for companies and national authorities. Annual third-party verification will be required for the most complex stages of the value chain, such as during chemical recycling.
The commission says the requirements will be lighter for small and medium-sized firms, with verification required every three years, and companies will be responsible for checking their business partners’ self-declarations, while national authorities will conduct risk-based controls.
“This is the first time the EU has laid out rules for chemically recycled content,” the commission says. "The calculation methodology will serve as a model for future recycled content rules in other sectors, such as packaging, automotives and textiles. This approach is designed to give investors confidence in the long-term stability and potential of these technologies.”
Stakeholders are able to provide feedback on the draft implementing act on the EU’s Have Your Say portal by Aug. 19. Following a review, the commission says it will present the final draft to the technical committee, made up of member states’ representatives, for a vote, with the adoption planned for this fall.
The Single-Use Plastics Directive sets recycled content targets that include 25 percent recycled content in beverage bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by this year and 30 percent in all single-use plastic beverage bottles by 2030.
The commission says it has adopted a two-step approach to implement these targets. The first step introduces a methodology focused on the mechanical recycling of PET, based on existing food contact regulations. The second expands the methodology to include all recycling technologies, including chemical recycling, by establishing rules to calculate the proportion of recycled materials in PET bottles.
Latest from Recycling Today
- PCA: Corrugated products customers ‘cautious’ amid economic uncertainty
- McKinsey sees recycling as an aluminum supply necessity
- RegenX delays annual report, says it is nearing facility restart
- WM Kelley moves into new offices
- US Senate backs reduced cuts to EPA
- HyProMag USA enters feedstock supply agreement with electronics recycler
- ELV Select Equipment, Reworld aid NYPD in secure firearm disposal
- Sonoco reports ‘strong’ Q2 results despite global macroeconomic pressures