06/10/2020
This review examines the EU’s response to the
growing problem of plastic waste with a focus
on plastic packaging waste. The EU’s 2018
plastics strategy proposes measures aiming to
improve recyclability, collection, sorting,
recycling and recycled content of plastic
products. The revised Packaging and Packaging
Waste directive set new plastic packaging
recycling targets for 2025 (50 %) and 2030 (55
%). New stricter reporting rules will likely lead
the EU’s reported average plastic packaging
recycling rate to drop. Even for plastic
packaging, the most developed arm of the
plastics strategy, concerted action by
stakeholders at EU and Member State level will
be required to bridge the considerable gap
between the current recycling rate and where
we need to be in only 5 to 10 years’ time.
Review No 04/2020: EU action to tackle the issue of plastic waste
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