MOSCOW (MRC) -- Industry associations representing EU plastics producers, processors and users have called on the European Commission to develop transparent parameters for chemically recycled products, said Chemanager-online.
The traceability of recycled content is becoming a major concern for the industry as the number of products containing chemically recycled materials grows and there are no uniform standards for those making and selling them.
In an open letter to the EU government, 31 organizations and sub-groups along the plastics chain, spearheaded by the chemicals and plastics producers’ interest groups Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and PlasticsEurope, are pressing the Commission to adopt harmonized rules for calculating the chemically recycled content of products, using the mass balance approach.
The process must be kicked off soon, say the industry associations, which also include processors’ organizations, such as European Plastics Converters (EUPC) its value chain partners.
To move forward more quickly, the industry groupings favor leveraging the EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) Implementing Act, which sets rules for calculating and verifying achievement of recycled content target.
Without prompt clarification, the interest groups say they fear falling farther behind on making investment decisions and being unable to stay ahead of legislative initiatives such as the proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste directive, which will set chemical recycling targets for 2030 and 2040.
We remind, Italian companies Saipem and Garbo have agreed to collaborate to commercialize the latter’s proprietary depolymerization technology, called ChemPET. The process converts waste PET into high-quality, high-value PET that can be reused in the chemical and food industries.
mrchub.com