According to Plastic Europe, European plastics producers are already investing billions of euros in chemical recycling, indicated as one of the key technologies in the transition to the EU circular economy. It allows one to process waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled into a new raw material. That is why – according to Plastic Europe – European producers will increase expenditures on chemical recycling, which by 2030 are to reach approx. EUR 7.2 billion.
“Currently, material recycling, i.e. the processing of plastic waste into new, for re-production, is according to various estimates at the level of 20-30%. This means that the remaining 70 percent plastic waste is not used or there is no material recycling method for it. Therefore, in recent years it has become quite clear to the world that without chemical recycling we will not get rid of this mass of waste” – says Adam Hańderek, president of Handerek Technologies in an interview with the Newseria news agency.
Plastic waste management is an increasing problem for ecosystems and the global economy. According to data cited by Handerek Technologies – about 1 billion tons of plastic is produced every day, and around the world – in landfills and thrown directly into the natural environment – almost 5 billion tons of this material is deposited. Only less than 1 percent. it is biodegradable. Every year, around 19 million tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste is added to the EU alone.
Chemical recycling is indicated as one of the key technologies in the transition to a circular economy (the 2018 European Strategy for Plastics in circular economy sets the target that by 2030 100% of all plastic packaging in the EU can be reused or easily recycled. ). Chemical recycling transforms waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled into a new raw material, with great potential to create new jobs and contribute to the EU’s climate neutrality.