How to make plastics part of the Circular Economy

NRK Recycling "plastics gone circular"

Prof. Dr. jur. Helmut Maurer

European Commission, DG ENV, Amsterdam 10.06.2016

what is behind circular economy?

Risks to manage and timeline

"demography and exponential growth" 1950-1985 2%p.a.

Exponential growth in all parametersall around 1950

"The Climate Bubble"

European Central Bank, Systemic Risk Board (ESRB)

and

Bank of England (Gouverneur Mark Carney) acknowledge "Stranded Carbon"

Financial markets see new risks fromstranded carbon. This should radicallychange product and waste policy.https://www.esrb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/asc/Reports_ASC_6_1602.pdf

Don't use known fossil fuel reserves

Ekins/Mc Glade (University College London): "until 2050 only 1000 billion tons more Co2 allowed to hit the 2° C target"

Energy firm's booked assets are equivalent to 2900 billion tons of Co2

Consequence: Explored world energy reserves to leave in the ground

= 33% Oil

= 49% Gas

= 82% Coal

Business as usual no option

• 1975 (only 35 years) 2010

225% increase in world GDP

64% population growth

120% increase in material consumption

Source: Lacy et.al, Wertschöpfung statt Verschwendung, München, 2015 (Waste to Wealth)

What do we use fossil fuel for?

A function of linear economy?

Production, Packaging, Transport, Consumption

Global Temperature Increasemore growth in the north – less in the south

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what can we do to mitigate

climate change ?

Operational tool: waste policywatch out for incineration !!

Quelle: UBA 2015

Obviously we have to do things fundamentally

different

Simply Change the

Perspective

product policy waste policy

Waste Prevention–incl. re-use

Preparing for re-use

RECYCLING

Recovery

Disposal

Tools to move up thewaste hierarchy

• Design for recycling• Extended producer

responsibility• Separate waste

collection• Recycling targets

Is the future of plastic energy recovery ? Statistics, RDF and recycling

http://www.fccenvironment.co.uk/fcc-environment-challenges-helmut-mauers-view-on-plastics-recycling.html

Linear Plastic we haveTreated as cheap disposable material

litter

Ruthless marketing without pointing to harm to the environment if not properly handled

Disposed in landfills = in the oceans

Incineration looks clever for the naive

Invites to design for early obsolescence

no repair, no upgrade, short life, hazardous additives, not recycling friendly

Radically expansive production (cosmetics/irrational and ignorant uses)

Circular plastic we want

Plastic not by all means, but where it makes sense (no abuse of LCA)

Non-toxic plastic. Precautionary principle against risk based approach

Only recyclable plastic, no cynical products like oxo-degradable plastic

Plastic that is too valuable to be burnt

Plastic requires responsible producers who:

Warn

Inform

Collect and enable recycling not burning

The reality of our linear plastic age

Municipal waste full of plasticConfusion about what is recycling and

what is energy recovery (statistical distortion)

Stone age landfill – a widely (ab)-used option

Oceans and Sea Food suffer from the plastic pest

Linear Austria: Collect, sort and

incinerate ?

A Circular Economy looks first at products and

then at wasteFocusses first on waste

prevention (Products / the "other half of the circle")

Focusses secondly on preparation for re-use and recycling (Waste)

Too much plastic ends up in landfills

Landfill ban on recyclable plastic

What are the most Important drivers for circular economy from the waste

side ?

STOP LANDFILLINGlandfill rate and energy recovery still today close to

80%, collection for recycling 20%

New Art. 5, 3f Landfill Directive

No Landfill of separately collected waste, Art. 11(1) und Art. 22 WFD Plastic, Glass, Metal, Paper (and Biowaste)

See for separate collection: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/Separate%20collection_Final%20Report.pdf

New Art. 22 WFD

Obligation to separately collect Biowaste

Economic rationale of a landfill ban

Increase of recyclable municipal waste, in particular plastic waste from packagingeconomy of scale. E.g.: FR would recycle more plastic but the material is not there.

Boost for manufacturers of sorting and recycling machines. In particular for plastics.

Saving of virgin raw materials and the externalized costs of extraction.

Circular Economy through

Target Review ?

and other politically relevant elements

Relevant targets for plastic

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2013 2025target

2030target

% preparation for reuse and recycling (1

method)

2020

PPWD: Plastic recycling target

radically increased from 23% today to

55% until 2025

Municipal waste

Operational Tool number “1” separate collection

Co-mingled versus separate ?

• Separate collection defined: Art. 3 (11) and 11(1), 10(2),22 WFD

on average, only 19 % of generated municipal waste is collected separately in EU-28 capitals: in other words, 80% of the waste still ends up in the residual waste bin.

Overall objective:

go for the highest possible yield and choose process accordingly

PAYT has proven to give the highest yield boost to sorting technology

Don’t give incineration of recyclables any chance

Pay as you throw is the most effective -flat rate charge the worst

Table: Fixed or PAYT funding schemes for the collection schemes implemented by the 28 EU capital cities

Table: Fixed or PAYT funding schemes for the collection schemes implemented by the 28 EU capital cities

PAYT Fixed fee + PAYT Flat rate N/A

Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, Helsinki,

Ljubljana, Tallinn, Vienna

Copenhagen, Stockholm,

Warsaw

Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon,

London, Luxembourg, Paris,

Vilnius

Athens, Bratislava, Bucharest, Madrid, Nicosia, Prague, Riga, Rome, Sofia,

Valetta, Zagreb

Average collection rate (separate

collected/generated MSW quantities)

35 % 17 % 17 % 10 %

Implications of judgment C-323/13 of 15 October 2014

No acceptance of waste in situ at landfills

"Sorting" considered as treatment

"effet utile":reduce volume, reduce

hazardousness, enhance recovery, stabilise bio-waste

Consequence for waste management practice:

Collect separately as much as you can

Automatic sorting where necessary

The rest undergoes treatment

Automatic sorting usually necessary

Big boost for sorting technology in EU

a few close ups

What counts for statistics ?

Principle:

Input to the final Recycling process

+ what is prepared for re-use (Logic ?)

Exception:

also output of sorting if rejects are below

10%

Calculation of exports

calculation methods for recycling

New Art 8a, formulating new requirements for PROs, such as: Producers pay less if marketing sustainable

products. Much potential for plastics

Adequate financial solidity

Self-control and internal audit on financial management and data control

Publication of info about owners and members , contributions and selection procedure for waste operators

Full cost coverage of waste management by producers

Extended Producer Responsibility

• Process: DG ENV and DG GROW co-responsible, DG SG in the lead

• Content to be discussed:

• Is the Ellen McArthur approach a blueprint for a plastic strategy?

• Feedstock for plastic a relevant strategic decision?

• Product design, what are the priorities ?

• Developing recycling markets through quality criteria for recyclates? (EoW or similar)

• Recycling legacy additives? Traceability !!!

• how to prevent leakage to the environment?

• Biodegradable plastics a long term substitution ?

• The role of consumers, GPP, informed choices

• The international dimension

Action Plan Circular Economy – the plastics strategy

Thank you for your attention !Additional sources of information:

DG ENV “waste” website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment//waste/index.htm

Green paper on Plastic Waste: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/pdf/green_paper/green_paper_en.pdf

Fitness Check 2014: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014SC0209&from=EN

Study on separate collectionhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/index.htm

Eurostat Databases: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/introduction

EEA: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste