According to the latest statistics, the EU 27 plus Switzerland and Norway are recovering 58% of their used plastics. The remaining 42% is still wasted on landfills, and huge disparities in recovery rates exist between European countries. Currentlly, nine countries recycle and recover more than 95% of their used plastics, whilst 15 recover less than 40% and still rely mostly on landfills.
PlasticsEurope believes that no used plastic should be wasted in landfills and is therefore engaging in the UK, Poland, France and Spain to transfer learning from countries which have effectively diverted plastics from landfills. This involves working in partnership with the value chain and with governments in order to:
- expand the collection of post consumer plastics for recycling;
- generate investment in infrastructure for sorting and reprocessing;
- develop markets for secondary raw materials;
- promote energy recovery solutions for the residual plastics that are not beneficial to recycle.
Providing the opportunity for citizens to deal with their used plastics in a sustainable way will build a more positive perception of plastics. It is also expected to result in less littering in “on-the-go” situations.
Website: http://www.plasticseurope.org
