More than 100 public and private partners covering the whole plastics value chain sign today the declaration of the Circular Plastics Alliance, in Brussels aiming to achieve 10 million tons of recycled plastic used to make new products every year in Europe, by 2025, as described in the European Commission 2018 Plastics Strategy.

According to the European Commission, "the declaration, is signed by small and medium businesses, large corporations, business associations, standardisers, research organisations, and local and national authorities endorses the 10 million tons target and calls for a shift to zero plastic waste in nature and zero landfilling". The signatories adhere to improving the design of plastic products to make them more recyclable and integrate more recycled plastics identifying untapped potential for more plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling across the EU, as well as the investment gaps; building a Research & Development agenda for circular plastics and establishing a transparent and reliable monitoring system to track all flows of plastic waste in the EU.

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development, said: “I welcome the industry`s commitments to rethink the way we produce and use plastics. By efficiently recycling plastics, we will clean up the planet and fight climate change, by substituting fossil fuels with plastic waste in the production cycle.”

Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: “We have the opportunity to make our industry a world leader in recycled plastics. We should fully seize it to protect the environment, to create new jobs in this sector and remain competitive.”