The European Parliament gave in to throwaway culture today in its position on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposal, issued by the European Commission one year ago [1]. MEPs voted on hundreds of amendments, many of which aimed to undermine the environmental ambition of the legislative text. The abundance of options provoked a barrage of false claims, scaremongering, and intense lobbying from industry players in the run-up to the vote.
A UN Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution could be an essential piece of the puzzle to reach the 2030 sustainable development goals – but success is not guaranteed. ECOS is contributing to the treaty decision-making process as an official observer, advocating for high ambition and the integration of ambitious standards that protect the environment.
ECOS and CIEL have published a brief that explains policies and technical processes that require the continuation and expansion of plastics production - cannot be labeled circular, and should not be considered solutions to the global plastics crisis.
On 30 November, as part of its Circular Economy Action Plan, the European Commission will take a step towards improving the sustainability of packaging and wider product distribution systems – or not.
ECOS has joined other NGOs and representatives of waste treatment operators to create this joint paper, which shows the lack of effectiveness of existing waste prevention policies. We need European level quantitative waste prevention targets, as well as effective national measures. This joint position paper also highlights manufacturers’ role in reducing resource use and the size of the circular economy loop. Lastly, it offers some clarity on the differences between waste prevention and recycling, emphasising that recycling is lower in the European waste hierarchy than prevention.
Bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics are currently under the European Commission’s spotlight. Whether or not they actually bring genuine environmental benefits is the question the Commission is trying to answer with several important policy measures that are meant to regulate bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics (or BBP/BDCP for short).
Ahead of the European Commission's review proposal at the end of 2022, we have selected eight key highlights of ECOS recommendations for the revision of the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive and the corresponding Directive on 3R type-approval.
Recycling, and particularly plastics recycling, is not a panacea to our overuse of natural resources. We cannot continue our addiction to plastics and simply recycle our way out of the biodiversity and climate crisis. Having said that, recycling does have an important role to play in closing the loop, once prevention and reuse options - such as refillable packaging - have been exhausted.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
