UK Named Top Performer for European Plastics Recycling
21 August 2012 - According to the latest European Commission report, the UK has achieved the top tier of Europe's plastics recyclers.
The report, titled ‘Screening of waste management performance of EU member states’, named the above average plastic recycling performers as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
PlasticsEurope welcomed the report findings and responded by saying that this proves that it is possible to achieve the target of zero plastics to landfill by 2020 if the right policies are put in place.
The average performers in plastic recycling were Ireland, Hungary, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia, while poor performers were listed as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Wilfried Haensel, Executive Director at PlasticsEurope, commented: "It is not simply a question of pointing the finger at the poor performers. What is more important is to learn from those countries that are leading by example.
With the challenges we are facing today in Europe, it makes no environmental or economic sense that seven EU member states are diverting over 90% of plastics waste from landfill, while 15 others still bury over 60%."
Currently, the value of plastic lost to landfill across Europe annually stands at around €8bn.