Europe's fight for a circular economy: Only a quarter of plastic waste is recycled
We diligently separate waste, but only a quarter of it is recycled. This is the sobering conclusion of a recent study by the plastics association Plastics Europe. More and more plastics are ending up in the oven. Yet we need the waste for the circular economy.
The current study shows that the European waste management sector still has a lot of catching up to do in terms of raw material cycles.According to the report, the recycling rate is only increasing slowly: Circular plastics made from non-fossil raw materials and recycled post-consumer recyclates now account for 13.5 per cent of newly manufactured plastic products in Europe. According to the Plastics Transition Roadmap, European plastics manufacturers are planning to increase the proportion of circular plastics in the value chain to 25 per cent by 2030.
Combustion hinders the transformation
The market researchers take a negative view of the increasing incineration of plastic waste for energy generation, which has risen by 15 per cent since 2018. "This is a cause for concern," Plastics Europe states in a press release, "as this plastic waste is needed as a raw material and in many cases could be returned to the cycle through recycling." Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of Plastics Europe, explains: "If we do not create incentives here, the speed of transformation cannot be maintained in order to achieve the goals of the Plastics Transition Roadmap and the European Green Deal.“
Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of Plastics Europe: "If we don't incentivise this, the speed of transformation cannot be maintained to achieve the goals of the Plastics Transition Roadmap and the European Green Deal."Collection and sorting must be massively expanded
In order to meet the growing demand for plastics made from non-fossil raw materials, the collection and sorting of plastic waste must be massively expanded and the availability of biomass and CO2 from carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) must be increased. Most recyclate is used in the packaging, construction and agricultural sectors, but still very little in the automotive industry.
However, the fact that the circular economy has not yet achieved a breakthrough is also due to the fact that there is too much focus on recycling and waste management. This also falls short because it not only involves a great deal of organisational effort and high investments, but also simply does not create enough economic incentives for the players.
The situation is different, however, when a growth perspective emerges - and the automotive industry has now recognised this: With its already strong networking between suppliers and customers, it is predestined for new, circular business models in which producers not only manufacture cars, but also accompany them throughout their entire life cycle and at some point also operate them, because customers no longer buy the car, but the mobility service.
However, the figures on recycling processes are also interesting in the study: The majority of circular plastics (13.2 per cent of all plastics) were obtained from mechanical recycling in 2022. Only one per cent came from bio-based materials and just 0.1 per cent from chemical recycling. The latter in particular is likely to change dramatically in the coming years in view of the EU's ambitious plans and the transformation of the chemical industry. This is because plastics form an ideal basis for replacing fossil raw materials. The potential in this area is enormous for machine and plant manufacturers. "We are therefore seeing steady progress towards a circular economy for plastics in Europe, but we need all hands on deck to accelerate this transition," comments Covestro CEO and VCI President Dr Markus Steilemann on the current study.
