Eunomia calls for universal recycling quality specifications

The report, published this week in partnership with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste,  highlights that the plastics industry faces a “significant challenge in meeting recycling targets due to the insufficient supply of recycled plastic that meets the required quality standards for essential packaging applications.”

Moreover, the European Commission’s proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is expected to raise recycled content targets, further stressing the need for improved recyclate quality.

The report aims to help accelerate the circular economy by increasing the availability of high-quality recyclates that meet industry requirements and boost the overall volume of recycled content in plastic products.

Recommendations

To promote the adoption of industry-aligned specifications for packaging applications, the report recommends that the industry take the following steps:

1. Engage brand owners, retailers, and other stakeholders in the value chain to provide support in finalising technical work on target quality guidelines for essential applications.
2. Conduct industrial trials for key applications to validate the appropriate recyclate quality required for defined packaging types.
3. Contribute to ongoing certification initiatives, such as forthcoming standards from CEN and CENELEC, and leverage the collective knowledge generated to expedite industry acceptance and adoption.
4. Offer clear and systematic guidelines to facilitate implementation, supporting industry players in their efforts to work towards aligned global standards.

By implementing these measures, the plastics industry can address the pressing challenges of insufficient high-quality recyclates and significantly increase the use of recycled content in plastic products. By advancing the circular economy in this manner, the industry takes a vital step towards achieving sustainability goals and reducing plastic waste’s environmental impact.

The report highlights the need for collaborative industry efforts in defining and adopting standardised quality specifications for mechanical recyclates.

A barrier in furthering the plastics circular economy is achieving a clear agreement

‘Significant Challenges’

Andy Grant, technical director at Eunomia Research & Consulting said: “A barrier in furthering the plastics circular economy is achieving a clear agreement on the specifications of materials that recyclers can produce and what the industry can use.”

The report outlines the industry’s approach to facilitate the development of quality guidelines for plastic recyclates and encourage their widespread adoption. By addressing the lack of aligned quality requirements, the approach aims to optimise sorting and recycling infrastructure, enabling the production of recyclates that meet brand owner requirements and align with design guidelines for various sorting and recycling facilities.

Martyn Tickner, chief advisor of the Technical Solutions Centre at the Alliance added: “The plastics industry has ambitious recycling targets which call for rapid development of sorting infrastructure and deployment of complementary recycling technologies. Together with the industry, the Alliance looks forward to continuing our contribution to this transition. We believe rapid adoption of quality standards throughout the value chain is a key step in this process”