Friends Of Europe Podcasts

In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of a motion that would phase out a number of single-use plastic items across the EU by 2021. The new law sets a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, committing Member States to this goal. Furthermore, plastic bottles will have to contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030. The European Parliament, alongside several forward-looking Member States, is taking the first steps towards the establishment of a circular plastics economy. While the focus should remain on reducing the use of plastics, plastic waste should also be accounted for. Replacing single-use plastics with innovative alternatives presents the EU with a significant opportunity, given that 95% of the value resulting from plastics production is lost to the economy, amounting to a loss of somewhere between €70bn and €105bn per year. However, the demand for recycled plastics in Europe today stands at only 6%. Therefore, the EU must develop a more robust recycling framework that enco