Chemical Recycling Europe calls for a faster recognition and legislation review to unlock the potential of chemical recycling

In a position paper published on the 2nd of June 2020, Chemical Recycling Europe calls for a faster recognition and legislation review to unlock the potential of chemical recycling. The full position paper is accessible on the Chemical Recycling Europe website: www.chemicalrecyclingeurope.eu/post/potential

Introduction

The recycling industry plays an important role in the transition to a more circular economy by turning polymeric waste into new value-added materials.

The sustainable management of waste and use of resources is at the heart of the European Green Deal . While the new Circular Economy Action Plan  aims at accelerating transformational change required by the EU Green Deal, in order to meet its ambitions and to reach EU recycling targets laid down in the EU Plastics Strategy , there is an urgent need to develop and implement new technologies for the recycling of polymeric waste, going beyond the limitations of traditional mechanical recycling.

Chemical Recycling complements the current recycling approaches and has the potential to be an environmental game-changer by processing polymeric wastes which are currently difficult to recycle. Investment in developing chemical recycling technologies and infrastructure will lead to the creation of new jobs and the protection of our environment by curbing CO2 emissions and increasing EU recycling capacity.