Author: Mark Smulian
Increasing imports of recycled plastics into the EU are deterring investment in recycling and threaten serious environmental consequences, trade body Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) has warned. Claims about transitioning to a circular economy would then “be empty words”, without action to encourage recycling rather than imports of plastics. It said the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation was intended to improve circularity by harmonising practices across EU member states and creating a market for recycled products. But, instead, the policy direction taken by European institutions was “making the initial optimism fade away”.