Exclusive: Bottlenecks beyond bottles

There is room to boost Europe’s plastic recycling activity, but bottlenecks can still prevent some activity from taking place, says Peter Sundt, secretary general of the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EPRO).

Sundt offered his views at a session titled “Keeping the Loop in Europe” at the 2015 Plastics Recycling Conference Europe, which took place in late October in Madrid.

Regarding barriers standing in the way of increased recycling, “Sometimes the bottleneck is collection, sometimes it’s [product] design,” said Sundt.

In Europe, he added, the mindset of some activists and regulators is to focus on “toxic issues,” which can likewise inhibit plastics recycling. Sundt also decried the widespread mentality (and terminology, in Europe) of viewing scrap as waste.

He also urged Europeans to support more plastic recycling, in part as a boost to the economy. Europe’s plastic recycling loop “is leaking millions of tonnes,” said Sundt, who decried the “illegal export” of end-of-life vehicles, electronics and other items.

Stephen Farncombe of Rotterdam, Netherlands-based ACN (Europe) offered comments on the benefits of the legal global plastic scrap trade, saying overseas markets can help Europe divert plastic scrap from its landfills and incinerators. “There are still significant untapped plastic resources in the European waste stream,” said Farncombe.

He commented that China’s implementation of its Green Fence import quality regulations in early 2013 had helped boost quality standards for plastic scrap around the world.

Regarding government support in Europe for its own plastics consumers, Farncombe said “balance is required,” in part because “Europe simply does not have sufficient reprocessing capacity” and “export markets can provide a home for difficult [to recycle] grades.”

Providing a view from host country Spain, Esther Colino of trade associations Ecoembes S.A. and EXPRA said when it comes to Europe supporting plastics recycling, “We tend to do well with legislation, then not as well with implementation and enforcement.”

Regarding an EU target to recycle 70% of its municipal solid waste by 2030, Colino said, “I’m sure it’s going to be hard to get there.” She said some countries in the EU are far ahead of others, while some nations “have an overcapacity” of energy recovery destinations. “This is really hampering recycling,” she stated.

The 2015 Plastics Recycling Conference Europe event was 28-29 Oct. at the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel in Madrid.