Circular economy in the German coalition agreement
Europe-wide steering through the Green Deal
International treaty to solve global plastic waste problem
The global plastic flood continues unabated - with clear consequences for the environment and climate. It is necessary to transform the gigantic flow of material into a cycle. The political plans, legal regulations and technological solutions required for this are among the core topics of IFAT Munich. The world's largest trade fair for environmental technologies will take place in Munich from 30 May to 3 June 2022.
The current life cycle of plastics is anything but circular. This is one of the messages of the report "Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options", which the industrialised countries' organisation OECD presented at the end of February this year. According to the 200-page work, both the annual production of plastics and the amount of plastic waste have more than doubled worldwide in the last two decades. The latter amounted to 460 million tonnes in 2019. Only nine per cent of this was recycled, while 19 per cent was incinerated and almost 50 per cent was sent to landfill. The remaining 22 percent ended up in uncontrolled landfills, were burned in open pits or ended up in the environment.
Plastic recycling with high climate protection potential
In addition to the much-discussed environmental problems with micro- and macroplastics, plastics also have a significant carbon footprint: they contribute to 3.4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions during their entire life cycle. Closing material loops could significantly reduce this footprint.
But what impulses and measures are necessary for more circular economy in plastics? The German plastics and recycling industry, for example, published a joint position paper on this last October. It unites the positions of Plastics Europe Deutschland, GKV Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie, VDMA Fachverband Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen, BDE Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Rohstoffwirtschaft e.V. (Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Industry) and bvse Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V. (Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Disposal). They name recycling-friendly product design, the handling of exports of used plastics, the EU-wide end of landfilling of plastic waste and the expansion of disposal and recycling structures as target-oriented starting points. In addition, the market conditions for the use of recyclates must be further improved. This requires a clear political roadmap and the necessary legal framework.
National circular economy strategy in the coalition agreement
The coalition agreement presented by the new German government at the end of November 2021 can be seen as one of these political roadmaps. It introduced the concept of a "National Circular Economy Strategy". Among the goals mentioned there is a legally anchored fund model that is to reward resource-saving and recycling-friendly packaging design as well as the use of recyclates. In addition, the coalition parties want to establish higher recycling quotas as well as a product-specific minimum quota for the use of recyclates and secondary raw materials at the European level.
The associations of the German waste management industry generally welcome the political appreciation of the topic of the circular economy - and also see many correct points in the agreement. At the same time, they are curious about the concrete legislative implementation - for example, the planned inclusion of chemical recovery as a recycling option in the Packaging Act. For the bvse, for example, the chemical conversion of plastics into their basic chemical building blocks or basic chemicals can only have a supplementary function to mechanical recycling. "It must not come to a situation where plastics recycling is deprived of high-quality packaging streams," emphasises Eric Rehbock, General Manager of the bvse.
Circular economy as an essential part of the EU Green Deal
The Green Deal announced by the European Commission in 2019 is considered to have a high steering effect at the EU level. According to the ambitious plan, the Community is to be climate-neutral by 2050. Among the measures envisaged for this, the circular economy plays a central role. For example, only reusable or recyclable packaging is to be produced in the EU by 2030. In addition, a new legal framework for biodegradable and bio-based plastics is to be created. Where waste cannot be avoided, its economic value must be recovered. Impacts on the environment and climate change must be prevented or minimised.
"The European Green Deal is definitely a pointer from the Commission that will demand a lot from all industries," Dr Sarah Brückner, Managing Director of the VDMA Waste and Recycling Technology Association, is certain. According to her, many new technologies have ensured that more packaging can be recycled in recent years. "But even the best processes reach their limits, for example in the recycling of material composites," Brückner knows. In this respect, the industry is basically in favour of the Commission's proposal to require recyclability already during the production of packaging. "However, we consider the implementation - i.e. the definition of 'recyclable' - to be difficult to almost impossible. Because what is not recyclable today may be recyclable tomorrow," the expert points out.
International treaty to end global plastic pollution
An international perspective on the future handling of plastics was provided at the beginning of March this year by the resolution of the fifth UN Environment Assembly in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. According to the will of the representatives of 175 countries, a worldwide legally binding convention is to be drawn up by the end of 2024 to end global plastic pollution. The planned treaty should also set standards and measures that cover the entire life cycle of plastics. In this context, the resolution emphasises the importance of a sustainable circular economy. "An indispensable prerequisite in the global fight against the littering of landscapes and oceans is the development of a disposal infrastructure," comments BDE President Peter Kurth and continues: "Landfills - whether legal or illegal - are generally not a good solution, certainly not for light plastic waste. The technologies for collecting and recycling plastics are there - now it's a matter of putting them to use worldwide."
Circular economy and plastics recycling: core themes at IFAT Munich
Circular design, chemical recycling and political market control - these keywords and many other aspects of the circular economy in general and plastics recycling in particular can be found in the programme of specialist lectures at IFAT Munich. In addition, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management offers a "Process World Plastics Recycling" organised by the VDMA Waste and Recycling Technology Association, while the BDE and the Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (Industrial Association for Plastics Packaging) present best-practice examples of practised recycling management in a special area. Plastics recycling companies will also present their range of services at a trade fair presentation supported by the bvse.
IFAT Munich will take place from 30 May to 3 June 2022 at the Munich Exhibition Centre.