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 comments on the Roadmap for a New Circular Economy Action Plan
The European recycling industry, as highlighted in its 5 top priorities for 2019-2024, strongly welcomes the European Commission’s renewed ambition to put, thanks to the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy and Climate policy on top of its strategic priorities for the next 5 years. Recycling is a job-intensive industry, creating local, non-outsourceable jobs, which is both resource and climate efficient. To move towards climate-neutrality and speed up the transition towards a circular economy, it is absolutely essential to drastically change important policy and regulatory-drivers applicable to recycling activities and throughout the value chain, based on three equally important priorities:
1. Adapt legislation to circular material flows by inter alia “modernizing (…) certain waste laws”;
2. Lay down market and fiscal based-instruments to incentivise the use of raw materials from recycling and level the playing field with primary materials;
3. Put in place requirements and incentives to design circular products and empower consumers’ sustainable choices through proper labelling.
These three priorities are essential to develop a much needed EU market for secondary raw materials rightly identified in the Roadmap as problem to be tackled.
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EuRIC Position on WEEE Treatment Standards
To level the playing field in WEEE treatment at European level, EuRIC supports laying down mandatory minimum quality standards based on the WEEE treatment standards developed by CENELEC provided they:
- Are based on 50625 treatment standards developed by CENELEC.
- Distinguish informative from normative requirements as provided by the mandate M/518 with such a distinction to be made by a third independent expert and verified by the European Commission;
- Costs of implementation of binding minimum quality standards, in particular the costs of auditing, shall be continuously covered by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Schemes or by Member States (MS)
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EuRIC calls for an ambitious Strategy on Textiles
Textiles and clothing are essential to our everyday life. Over the last two decades, the textiles’ industry, in particular the development of ‘fast fashion’, has deeply changed the consumption patterns, in Europe and globally. These changes, rooted in the production and consumption stages, have also impacted the textiles re-use and recycling sector. EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation, strongly welcomes the European Commission’s decision to make textiles, apparel and fabrics a priority product category within the Circular Economy 2.0.
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EuRIC welcomes the European Green Deal
The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) welcomes the publication of the European Green Deal by the European Commission on 11 December 2019. The European Green Deal rightly puts climate and circular economy policies at the core of the objective to re-shape Europe’s economy and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
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EuRIC launches EuRIC Textiles and elects Executive Committee
The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) is proud to announce the creation of EuRIC Textiles and the election of its new Textiles Executive Committee. The Executive Committee was elected during a meeting held on 3 December 2019 in which the vast majority of the European textiles re-use and recycling industry was present.
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EuRIC Updated Statement on the critical situation faced by the European paper recycling sector
Urgent need to reconcile circular economy in paper with market realities as paper recycling industry faces difficult situation. Updated statement on the critical situation.
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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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EuRIC Position on the revision of the End-of-life Vehicles (ELV) Directive
EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation is pleased to share comments on the revision of Directive 2000/53/EC (ELV Directive).
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EuRIC Position Paper on Chemical Recycling
Chemical recycling (CR) is attracting an increasing attention as solutions to deal with certain types of waste plastics are sought in Europe and beyond. While CR could represent an interesting solution to address plastic waste streams that are not currently recycled, and complement the well-established mechanical recycling industry for tackling issues surrounding the end-of-life disposal of plastics, it is important to raise awareness on the diversity of technologies covered by the term “chemical recycling”, and the limits of those technologies with regards to the objectives of circular economy.
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Press release: EuRIC signs the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) Declaration
Today, on 20 September 2019, EuRIC has co-signed the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) Declaration during the High-level event organized by the European Commission. For EuRIC, the CPA perfectly embodies the value chain approach needed to achieve the target of at least 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics by 2025. It shall be seen as complementary to the implementation of regulatory measures that pull the demand for recycled plastics and foster eco-design
