Politics

| The European plastics recycling industry has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Plummeting oil prices have resulted in a sharp decline of virgin plastics prices.

| Ahead of the stakeholder meeting on the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) on 18th-19th June, Bellona Europa, Zero Waste Europe and Rethink Plastic Alliance launch the policy brief "Recycled Carbon Fuels in the Renewable Energy Directive".

| European Bioplastics has announced the appointment of Joanna Dupont-Inglis as new Head of European Public Affairs. She assumed her position on 1 June 2020 and will be based in Brussels.

| The recently presented EU Recovery Plan is a necessary means to helping waste management companies achieve a circular economy across Europe.

| In a wide-ranging review of legislative developments affecting the recycling industry, BIR Trade & Environment Director Ross Bartley opened the first-ever International Environment Council (IEC) eForum by stressing the importance of efforts to ensure that mechanical recycling remained rooted in the definition of recycling, which was currently being debated within the United Nations’ Basel Convention.

| The Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform (PCEP) has called for investment decisions taken by Member States, the EU and all economic actors, as part of the EU recovery package to be focused on delivering the circular economy.

| In a position paper published on the 2nd of June 2020, Chemical Recycling Europe calls for a faster recognition and legislation review to unlock the potential of chemical recycling.

| What a wonderful change in air quality across globe, it’s a time to breathe without mask but because of Corona, we can’t dare to do so.

| BIR’s first-ever Global eForum started on June 2 with the Spotlight on Trade, which offered a timely analysis of the practical impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the recycling industry worldwide.

| According to GAIA, the industry is using the term “chemical recycling” to greenwash plastic-to-fuel technologies, seeking public approval for the continued use and disposal of plastic.

| Today a group of 53 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from across the political spectrum have written a letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius, Hogan, Reynders, and Urpilainen endorsing civil society’s approach to rethinking the global textile value chain.

| Zero Waste Europe​ (ZWE) has released a policy briefing which highlights the importance of defining a new strategy for managing residual waste that corresponds with the requirements of the age of climate emergency that we are living in.

| EERA wishes to react to the “Informal consultation on a draft delegated act to implement recent changes to the Basel Convention”.

| The newly published green recovery plan stresses the importance of strengthening the foundations of circular economy.