Europe's Progress Towards A Circular Plastics Economy

The European Environment Agency (EEA) recently provided a briefing on Europe's plastic consumption and its progress towards achieving a circular economy. The data was very interesting and showed that while some key steps have been taken, we still have a long way to go. Europe's plastic consumption is expected to double by 2060 and if we wish to reduce the impact on the environment, more action will be required. Pollution in oceans has already seen a notable increase and the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the EU's plastics is already higher than the total GHG emissions of Belgium.

Where has progress been made?

One key area where progress has made is recycling. For example, the report cites that the use of recycled plastic increased from 6.8% in 2018 to 8.1% in 2020. It also discussed that the mechanical recycling capacity for plastics in Europe has increased almost 6 fold over the last couple of decades (2Mt in 1996 to 11.3Mt in 2021).