In January 2018, the EU adopted plastic regulations for the first time throughout Europe, hoping that all plastic bags used by the EU in 2030 will be recyclable.
The rule, passed on January 16, calls for a reduction in the use of disposable plastics, limiting the worldwide use of plastic film and substantially reducing the use of plastic bags, said Timoman, EU's chief vice-president for sustainable development, saying: 'If we Without changing the way we produce and use plastic, there will be more plastic in the oceans than in the sea by 2050.
Timoman points out that the EU is introducing plastic regulations to promote a new and recyclable economy and said: 'We need to invest in innovative technologies to keep our industry competitive while ensuring the safety of citizens and the environment.'
As part of the new regulation, the European Union said it will work hard to strengthen the profitability of its recycling business by formulating new rules on packaging, increasing plastic recyclability and increasing the demand for recyclable plastic. The EU announced on January 16 that recycled plastic The more recycling capacity and facilities that need to be built, the more complex sorting and waste classification systems and standards are required within the EU.
According to the EU estimates, each recycling a ton of plastic can save about 780 yuan.From the first quarter of 2018, the EU is also preparing to amend the "Packaging and Packaging Waste Guide."
The European Union said it will set out rules to ensure that all packaging plastic in the EU market can be reused or economically feasible by 2030. The legislative proposal to ban disposable plastics will be submitted in the second half of 2018.
The European Union will also promote the public consultation. The EU said it has seen changes in product design, production, use and recycling, and investment opportunities and jobs will also change as new policies change.
One of the focuses of attention is fishing gear and supportive national mobilization, and the new rules require ports and vessels to work together with other sectoral units to remove pollutants from the oceans and other waters.
The EU also said it will provide an additional $ 120 million in funding to promote the development of more recyclable plastics, increase the efficiency of recovery processes and remove more hazardous materials and contaminants from recycled plastics.
A consultant specializing in global recovery PET market research said the plan was less than optimistic, said Helen McCauf, senior consultant at PCI Wood Mackenzie, who said: "The plan is positive Steps, but may lose the opportunity to properly solve the plastic waste and pollution caused by the huge changes.Changes are fundamental, but the rapid and effective response of all countries and industries to these changes is a big issue.
EU Packaging and Environment welcomes the new regulation, saying it will back that rule and actively push the EU to implement more new initiatives on packaging materials.
EU Plastics Industry Group promises
In response to the European Union's proposal, a group of 6 European plastics industry associations voluntarily promised to launch a 'recycling platform' that aims to achieve 50% recyclability of plastic waste by 2040.
The group said on January 16 that it is launching a recycling platform aimed at working with the European Union to expand the current plastic recycling activities within the EU and set targets that include 70% of plastic bags recyclable and reusable, but they emphasize that the entire All stakeholders in the value chain must be involved to achieve this goal, including raw material producers, designers, manufacturers of plastic products and all brand owners.
The joint statement issued by the group said: 'The real industrial transformation will only be possible with the full participation of the plastics industry. It will also have to be supported by shareholders in the entire plastics industry value chain.'
The six participating associations are PRE, Petcore, ECRA, PCEP Europe, EuPC and VinylPlus.