Waste

Interpol has warned of an ‘alarming increase’ in the ‘illegal plastic pollution trade’ since China put in place curbs on waste imports in 2018, with a growing amount of illegal waste directed to south-east Asia and central and eastern Europe

A levy on plastic waste designed to encourage recycling could have the opposite effect, a Brussels-based trade association representing processing firms has warned

With less than a third of plastic collected in Europe actually being recycled, chemical processing will be essential for the EU to achieve its circular economy goals, the industry association Cefic argues

Environmental groups have called for EU legislation to limit the use of chemical processes to reform waste plastic, arguing the chemicals industry has yet to demonstrate their safety and efficacy

Incoherent application of a 2015 directive to cut plastic bag use means there are wide variations in rules from one country to another, green groups have warned, while progress has stalled on new measures to curb a wider range of single-use plastics