Originally published in ERTC Newspaper 2023
Every year, in Europe alone, roughly 30 million tonnes of plastic waste is collected. However, more than 80% of that resource is not recycled into new products because the majority of it is still incinerated, exported, or dumped in landfills.
This is a waste of precious resources that could be used as secondary raw materials in place of fossil feedstock in addition to being a source of CO₂ emissions.
A rapid scale-up of mechanical and chemical recycling capability is required to further increase plastic recycling and support Europe in meeting its recycled content targets.
