Position papers
Over the last decades, the European recycling industries have drastically evolved by modernizing and constantly innovating to turn more waste streams into new resources. By doing so, the sector has contributed to the development of new technologies and automated equipment made in Europe and exported around the globe. The European regulatory framework has accompanied these changes thanks to ambitious targets and a meaningful waste hierarchy. However, the recycling sector continues to be subject to a complex and ever-growing EU regulatory framework, which affects its activities. To ensure a competitive European recycling sector, which is part of a global industry, EuRIC advocates clear, effective and smart European policies which:
- Incentivise recycling across the value chains;
- Minimise regulatory burdens on recyclers, in particular on SMEs;
- Guarantee an open and fair competition within Europe and with the world to foster a genuine internal recycling market.
EuRIC also advocates positive measures to ensure a consistent implementation of existing legislation across Europe.
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EuRIC Factsheet - LCA Tyre Recycling Environmental Benefits
LCA study demonstrates positive climate and environmental benefits of the recycling of end-of-life tyres for artificial turf pitches.
Read more about EuRIC’s position by following the link below. -
Press Release - Environmental Benefits - Tyre Recycling - Infill Artificial Turf
Tyres are complex products subject to strict standards to fulfill mobility and safety requirements. Proper treatment of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) is essential to recover valuable materials of which tyres are made, namely rubber, steel and textiles. A new peer-reviewed study, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) meeting ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, made by the Danish FORCE Technology Institute and the German ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH1 demonstrates that mechanical recycling of ELTs into infill for artificial pitches is, by far, the most sound treatment option in terms of circularity and climate benefits. The LCA study shows that the mechanical recycling of an average of 400,000 tonnes of ELTs processed into infill for artificial turf - when compared with energy recovery - spares the environment 280,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually in the EU. To give an order of magnitude, ELT recycling as infill into artificial turfs offsets greenhouse gases emissions (GHS) comparable to the amount of GHS absorbed by 140,000 hectares (approx. 250 million trees) of forest land in the EU2.Tyres are complex products subject to strict standards to fulfill mobility and safety requirements. Proper treatment of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) is essential to recover valuable materials of which tyres are made, namely rubber, steel and textiles. A new peer-reviewed study, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) meeting ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, made by the Danish FORCE Technology Institute and the German ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH1 demonstrates that mechanical recycling of ELTs into infill for artificial pitches is, by far, the most sound treatment option in terms of circularity and climate benefits. The LCA study shows that the mechanical recycling of an average of 400,000 tonnes of ELTs processed into infill for artificial turf - when compared with energy recovery - spares the environment 280,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually in the EU. To give an order of magnitude, ELT recycling as infill into artificial turfs offsets greenhouse gases emissions (GHS) comparable to the amount of GHS absorbed by 140,000 hectares (approx. 250 million trees) of forest land in the EU2.
Continue reading the full press release by clicking on the link below.
1 Life cycle assessment of waste tyre treatments: Material recycling vs. coincineration in cement kilns, Force Technology with contribution by ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH, for GENAN Holding A/S, May 2020.
2 European Parliament News. Climate change: using EU forests to offset carbon emissions (Eurostat), April, 2018. -
EuRIC Comment on Tyre Ecodesign to Boost Circular Economy
Tyres are becoming more and more sophisticated. Yet, they are still perishable and have to be recycled when reaching end of life stage.
Read more on the subject by downloading the file below.
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EuRIC call for Recycled Plastic Content in Cars
By turning waste into valuable resources and hence saving massive amounts of GHG and energy, plastics recycling is at the core of the circular economy. Automotive plastics’ recyclers have developed during the last decades state-of-art post-treatment technologies to efficiently separate and then recycle plastics from end-of-life vehicles (ELV); recycled plastics that once compounded again in new vehicles, meet similar performance standards as those compounds from virgin polymers
In this substantiated call for recycled content of plastics in new cars, EuRIC outlines the state of play of plastics in the automotive sector and highlights the need for an increase content of recycled plastics thanks to targets to be set in the ELV Directive currently under revision.
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Implementation of Best Practices in Synthetic Turfs
It is a report on ‘Implementation of Best Practices in synthetic turfs to avoid the release of microplastics from rubber granulate into the environment’. The report describes the most conventional best practices that have been implemented in synthetic turfs across Europe and their associated costs, and also highlights the importance of implementing those kind of measures to avoid the emissions of microplastics from rubber granulate into the environment, that could be reduced to negligible limits when those best practices are implemented in synthetic fields.
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Q&A Document on the Presence of PAH in Synthetic Turfs
The document is divided into seven questions that develop on explaining what are PAHs, why are they present in synthetic turfs, and how safe it is to use those turfs regarding the low rate of exposure of PAHs for users, its environmental benefits, and what can be further improved to establish realistic restrictions to the use of ELT for the production of synthetic turfs.
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Press release: Partner Membership between EuRIC and ETRA (4 June 2018)
EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation, and ETRA, the European Tyre Recycling Association, are pleased to announce their Partner Membership.