New EU ban on plastic waste exporting raises concerns
The new rules, announced on 22 December and enforced from 1st of January ban the export of plastic waste outside Europe with clean plastics intended for recycling being the only exception. While European Commission claims that the EU is taking responsibility for the waste its citizens generate, there are some concerned voices.
The decision corelates with China's ban on imports of (plastic) waste from abroad. While some researchers and policy makers consider that this decision will stimulate more recycling and innovation in effectiveness of the process, some activists, like Zero Waste Europe group claim that Europe doesn’t have the necessary recycling infrastructure in place. In other words, not all recyclable plastic is made equal and ambitious plans for recycling percentage could be jeopardized by the enlarged volume of lower quality plastic waste that could end up in (illegal) landfills that still dot a lot of European countries.
Read this interesting Euractiv story HERE...
