Circular economy… worldwide changes

What changes worldwide could have the biggest impact on the circular economy? Read our selection for you for May 2021.

European Parliament pushes for more action to reduce marine litter

The European Parliament recently voted for more decisive action to reduce the amount of plastic waste in our oceans.

In its report, parliament calls for increased collection, recycling and upcycling in both aquaculture and fisheries, as well as a phasing out of polystyrene in fishery products.

The report includes a startling fact that an average consumer of Mediterranean shellfish will ingest around 11,000 plastic fragments per year.

Members of parliament also pointed out that fishery and aquaculture waste accounts for as much as 27% of all marine litter. This suggests that circular economy developments should be a high priority for the sector.

Parliament hopes these issues can be solved through establishing an EU action plan focused on tackling the marine waste problem. This action plan should focus on fishing and aquaculture waste, as well as substantially reducing plastic waste originating from rivers and coastlines.

Landbell Group is involved in the European Commission’s preparations for regulatory measures to combat marine litter, contributing its expertise and experience in the field of extended producer responsibility.

New organisation established to report on Europe’s plastic circularity

A new organization is bringing together important players in Europe’s plastics industry to improve reporting on circularity .

The initiative called PolyREC includes Petcore Europe, PlasticsEurope, Plastics Recyclers Europe, and VinylPlus. It will use a common data collection system to improve transparency and traceability along the plastics value chain, helping to increase trust amongst consumers regarding the origin of recycled plastics.

The new organization will lean on decades of experience from its respective members to better understand and improve sustainability in the sector. Other organisations interested in contributing are invited to join PolyREC.

See PlasticsEurope’s website for more information.