Plastic Recyclers Europe welcomes EU vote on SUPD calculation method

Today at the European Commission (EC), the Waste Technical Adaptation Committee for the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) is voting on the draft implementing decision on recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles. 

We sit down with a spokesperson at Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE) who tells us the outcome of the vote will determine the timeline of its implementation. “In case of a positive vote, the EC is expected to adopt the measure without delay,” they share.

The amendment is set to account for “additional recycling technologies,” in particular chemical recycling, rules for the calculation and verification of targets, SUPD Article 6(5), and the format for reporting data and information, SUPD Article 13(1)(e) and Article 13(4).

The PRE spokesperson tells Packaging Insights: “The vote for implementation decision under the SUPD is scheduled for today (February 6).”

“The definition [within the text] stipulates that recycled PET produced outside of the EU market cannot count toward the SUPD targets until November 21, 2027.”

The spokesperson notes that after this date, the scope would be extended to OECD countries, which are identified as able to handle waste in an “environmentally sound manner.”

“Non-OECD countries would be considered only in cases where an agreement between the EU and a given country exists, guaranteeing high environmental, health, and waste-management standards.”

Fighting cheap imports

The PRE spokesperson explains that the draft measure includes rules for mass-balance calculation of chemically recycled content in PET beverage bottles. 

“In addition, it proposes an amended definition for recycled plastics aimed at stabilizing the European recycling market for PET.”

PRE highlights that while PET is the EU’s second most frequetnly recycled polymer, it is facing low prices and rising stockpiles due to imports of even cheaper virgin plastic and high energy costs. Last year, we discussed the issue at length in an interview with the organization’s president, Ton Emans.

In response, the EC is rolling out new measures to boost the EU’s recycling sector and create a single market for recycled plastics through an “end-of-waste criteria” Under the new rules, recycled plastic will no longer be classified as waste, aiming to facilitate easier circulation across member states.

The forthcoming calculation methods under the SUPD come “at a decisive time,” according to PRE. “Their definition of recycled plastic will determine whether Europe secures a strong recycling ecosystem or watches it erode under external market pressures.”